


Looking Through the Glass

by GracelessAngel17



Series: Wonderland [2]
Category: Alice in Wonderland (Movies - Burton), tim burton - Fandom
Genre: I'll finish eventually, Multi, Sequel, no seriously, probably, typical battle violence, we're halfway there
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-09
Updated: 2019-01-08
Packaged: 2019-10-07 02:11:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 74,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17356985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GracelessAngel17/pseuds/GracelessAngel17
Summary: Both Alice and Allyson return to Underland just as a new foe rises to replace the Red Queen. Reunions and rivalries will have to be put on hold as the fate of both worlds hangs in the balance...supported by the hands of a new generation.





	1. Prologue - Premonitions

**Author's Note:**

> Started writing this at 16, after I learned how to use the ellipsis and not put an exclamation mark after everything...I haven't had the time needed to finish this fic (or the parallel one with out "me" in it) but I'll get around to it soon I hope.

**_Allyson_ **

 

The week before my first day of high school should’ve been a warning of what was to come four years down the road, but I didn’t realize it at the time. To me it just seemed extremely odd and kind of scary, but I really should’ve known better…maybe it would’ve made my current situation a little easier.

            I was having one of my dreams again, only a month and a half after my spat with Absolem about whether or not I was going to stay in Underland sooner than I had planned. The little insect somehow managed to get me back on somewhat civil speaking terms with him, though our conversations were often terse and snappy. We were examining the Oraculum one night, trying to determine the exact date of Alice’s return, when I noticed him scribbling something on a separate sheet of parchment.

            “What’s that?” I peeked over his pudgy arm and instantly recognized my name, along with the other six Wonderland Warriors.

            “Just a list of all the Overlanders that come and go down here... Mostly the seven of you, but there are a few more…” he continued writing without even an upwards glance, “You’ll be meeting one of them in a few days, by the way…you’ll be able to recognize her when you see her. She stands out from the crowd, if I do say so myself.”

            “ _Poor Matt and Trevor…ANOTHER girl to add to the group of **five** girls and **two** guys._” I sighed inwardly, thinking of how unfairly outnumbered they were, “Is her ‘ _sticking out from the crowd_ ’ a **_good_** thing?” I asked, only half-joking.

            “Hmm…that’ll depend on her mood that particular day.”

            “ ** _Fantabulous_** ….” I muttered, crawling through a crack underneath the moving calendar and between two giant mushrooms, I popped up beside him to search for her name among ours;

           

            _Allyson               Maccay_

_Matt   Sam_

_Trevor   Amber_

_Lucy   Tony_

_C’Lee   Luke_

_Mayo_

           

            “Well, her name must be Amber…it's obviously **_not_** Tony or Luke. None of us know anyone named Tony…there's a Luke in two of my classes next year, so that's probably who that is… We're already looking at this guy named Sam, and he fits in _WAY_ too well with our bunch.” I rolled back onto my heels, examining his scrawling handwriting. The Butterfly had clearly never taken any penmanship classes when he was training to become a guardian for the Oraculum…

            “I see…… Have you figured out what he can do in your music band yet?”

            “Nah, we’re still trying to find somewhere to put him. He doesn’t play any instruments, and computers freak out whenever he touches them…and he is definitely **_NOT_** driving the bus in the future.” I shuddered at the thought of the die-hard Grand Theft Auto fan behind the wheel of the Warrior bus. No thanks, I'd like to live to my next birthday if you please.

            “Is there anything else for him to do?” Absolem took a puff from his hookah, wisely blowing the blue smoke off to the side rather than in my direction.

            “Nothing I can think of off the top of my head. You have any suggestions?”

            The Butterfly pondered this for a moment, exhaling more filmy smoke. He shook his round head, “Not at the moment…You’ll find something for him eventually…”

            I shrugged, propping myself up with my elbows and laying on my tummy, "We really don't need any more instruments or anything…I'm sure Trevor could use some help with something that won't get one or both of them electrocuted, or shut down half of Atlanta. Or both."

            Just as I mentioned his name, the letters on the parchment began to shimmer and Trevor's name started to seep back into the paper… and soon disappeared altogether.

            We both creased our eyebrows in confusion; neither of us had ever seen writing vanish into thin air, even in Underland that was something that didn't usually happen. He picked up his pen and rewrote the name in the exact spot where it had been, but no matter how many times he did this, the ink would dissolve into nothing and leave the page blank. No one else's names were doing this; they all appeared to be normal. I scanned over all eleven names over and over again, hoping and praying that this was some kind of prank or something. Maybe his ink had gone bad or the paper was just being weird.

            Then it got worse, "Uh…Absolem? Why are Sam, Tony, **_and_** Amber's names leaking off too?!"

            His eyes grew wider than mine when he saw their names trickling down the side of the page and onto the mushroom, leaving small black puddles. There was no mistaking the horror that was slowly washing over the Butterfly's features, "Something…something is terribly wrong…"

            No sooner had he uttered these words than I started to genuinely freak out; Lucy's name swirled into a little inky vortex, seeming to collapse on itself before fading away. Her twin's name stayed put, not budging an inch. Normally, the two of them doing the opposite of each other was expected, but in this case it was a chilling omen.

            “What does this mean? Absolem **_what_** is going on?” Now we were both in full panic mode. My whole body was trembling and my hands started to get clammy and cold. His eyes kept darting into the surrounding smoke, as if he was watching for something to jump out and attack us.

            "I don't know…I really don’t know…" the Oraculum rolled up on its own and he grabbed it, safely storing the scroll away in a cranny between some mushrooms, "All that is certain is that it's not safe here. You need to warn the others about this." He began to retreat into the blue haze, his wings swirling the smoke and obscuring my vision.

            The dream was starting to unravel, propelling me back into my own world, " ** _Absolem_**! Absolem _wait_!” I reached out to grab onto him, but my hand slammed into an invisible wall. Darkness slowly crept into my sight, blacking out the image of the Mushroom Forest and replacing it with my room bathed in the rising sunlight.

            I awoke with a violent start and a sharp gasp. Every sheet and blanket on my bed was piled in the floor, all tangled together. My phone nearly clattered to the floor as my hand swept over the nightstand in search of it, but I caught it just in time. I pressed the End Call button to check what time it was and discovered text messages from each of the other band members, two missed calls from Trevor, three from both Lucy and C'Lee, and seven from Mayo.

            " _I don't guess I need to warn them after all._ " I muttered, opening the first of the voicemails and hearing the match to my own terror in my friend's voice.

 

**_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~_ **

 

**_Allyson_ **

 

Needless to say, we called an emergency meeting directly after lunch that day. Everyone was visibly shaken by what they had seen with their own eyes… Not all of us had been "in" Underland when it happened, but we all shared a gut feeling that something awful was going down without our knowing it.

            Trevor and Lucy ( _whose names had been mysteriously erased right in front of me_ ) dreamt the same exact thing; there were mirrors all around them, but instead of them being the normal shiny silver color, the glass was a jet black and rippling like a pool of ink, and a pair of red eyes stared from the murky depths. When they attempted to touch the unusual looking-glasses, however, the reflective material shattered into millions of tiny shards that in turn shattered all the other mirrors around them.

            Maccay's dream was pretty freaky too; she said that all of us were standing with our backs to her in the former Red Queen's throne room, and when she called out to us we all turned very slowly to face her, revealing monstrously blood-red eyes and razor-sharp teeth. Just before she could flee the horrible sight, she heard the kind of tinkling music that comes from old wind-up toys and jewelry boxes, and the haunting laughter of a little girl echoing in the halls.

Worst of all were C'Lee, Matt, and Mayo's dreams, as they gave form to one of our group's collective biggest fears…they couldn't even get into Underland. Oh sure, they could see their usual hangouts, their good friends and counterparts beckoning to them desperately, as if they were in some sort of danger, but they couldn't reach them. It was as if they were at the end of a long, dark tunnel, and no matter how much they crawled, jumped, sprinted, clawed, or scrambled for the end of it, they never could make it.

Mayo's dramatic reaction wasn't much of a surprise, but the fact that the dream scared C'Lee so badly that she woke up crying scared me more than my own nightmare... She was never one to get overly emotional about anything, much less just some dream. Matt was still shaking from the trauma, which heightened my distress even more.

            My nightmare only escalated the pandemonium, if it could be escalated, confirming via the Oraculum that something was indeed brewing that was out of even the Oracle's control. We assumed that if Absolem couldn't fix it, or didn't know anything about it, that it could only spell disaster…which was usually the case, since he's the only partially omniscient being we know of down there.

            "So…there's **_nothing_** we can do?" Maccay asked in dismay.

            I shook my head, "We don’t know what's going on, and apparently no one else does either. Nobody but me was where they normally are, and I didn't get told anything despite that fact. Absolem' s not one to always be straightforward, but if he knew what kind of danger we may be facing, he'd tell me that at least." Or at least I **_hope_** he would. He doesn’t seem like the type that would hide information that would determine the outcome of a life or death situation, but then again, this **_is_** the same bug that never bothered to tell me ' _Oh, by the way, you're gonna actually come down the Rabbit Hole, fight the freaking JABBERWOCKY and rescue the Knave of Hearts from this looney bin-escapee of a queen!_ '

            That's when it hit me…what if we can **_never_** get back down there? What if the Underlanders were in peril at this very moment, and we couldn't help them? My heart lurched at the thought of all of our friends fighting for their lives, and us being unable to come to their aid…they depended on us for backup in the direst of straits. What would happen if we couldn't be there for them?

            Would they think we'd all **_abandoned_** them? That we'd **_all_** opted to stay in Overland forever? That we'd **_forgotten_** all about them?

            "There must be some way that we can find out what's happening and why we all had those crazy dreams." Matt uncrossed his arms and twiddled his fingers, pondering a way to contact somebody in Underland.

            "If the Looking-Glass portals were open we could go through them, but someone in Underland would have to open it from there. But if they can't talk to us through our dreams anymore, who's to say that those portals will work? And just to clear things up a little more, I am **_not_** falling down another Rabbit Hole!" although the adventure after my tumble was rather interesting, the plummet itself was far from pleasant. Trevor looked away when I shot him a pointed glance, remembering that it was **_his_** buttered fingers that dropped me down it in the first place.

            He was just muttering something that sounded like "Sorry…" when a tapping sound came from the bathroom, like someone drumming their fingers on a TV screen. All seven of us cast puzzled stares at the door, which was slightly ajar, "Did you hear that?"

            "Y-yeah…what was it?" Lucy peeked around her sister.

            Seeing as how it was my own bathroom that had been invaded by the unseen intruder, it was, of course, my obligation to go in first to investigate. I cracked the door open just enough to stick my hand through the gap and flip on the light switch, dispelling all the shadowy hiding places. Based on just a cursory scan of the room, I assumed that there wasn't anyone or anything out of place in there.

However, I was also under the assumption that whatever was knocking was on **_our_** side of my huge, ornate mirror, not the **_other_** side. Just as I turned to walk back out, I saw a figure out the corner of my eye, and was extremely startled to find the Knight of Hearts looking back at me.

            "Aack! **_Stayne_**!? What the-" I yelped in surprise, "How'd you get in my mirror!?"

            He chuckled as the other band members swarmed around me to get a better look at who or what I'd screamed at, " _Glad to see you too. Absolem partially opened the portal between Marmoreal and your house so I could talk to you; we wanted to check and see that you were ok after what happened last night._ "

            "We're all fine, just a little worried…is everything alright down there?"

            " _As far as I know. We still haven't figured out what happened with the Oraculum, or anything else for that matter. Nothing else has gone pear-shaped since you got sent home, but that doesn't mean that nothing is wrong._ "

            "I know…you don't think this is going to affect Alice coming back, do you?" I hadn't even thought about her until now. She had sworn that she'd return someday, and I know at least one person who'd be a mad, miserable wreck if she broke that promise.

            He shrugged, " _Hopefully not. I don't think Tarrant can go much longer without her._ "

            Mayo piped up from behind me, "Is he alright!? He's ok isn't he?" Her insanely green eyes were as wide as a couple of dinner plates and she had a death-grip on my shoulder.

            " _He's fine, just lovesick is all. I swear if he doesn’t stop moping around, people are going to start calling him the SAD Hatter_..."

            "Now Ilosovic…" I chided him, "be nice." He knew I was kidding, so he just rolled his eye and snickered.

            " _Yes, because **you** have room to talk about that._" He shot back, " _Anyway, I've got to go, Mirana wants me to ride to the other three kingdoms and see if they know what the deal is. It's going to take me forever to get there and back, so I have to leave in the morning…but I'll try and keep you posted as much as I can._ " He paused before finishing, " _Just be careful 'til we get this sorted out, alright?"_

            I nodded, "You too. I didn't save your hide just for you to go and get it in trouble again."

He sighed and shook his head jokingly, " _If you insist…But seriously, do be careful._ "

"Eh, don't worry about me. It's perfectly safe up here… Nothing from Underland has ever bugged me at home before, so I doubt there's anything to worry about."

            " _Don't be too sure. I'm not trying to worry you or anything, but if we can get up here, then so can others. And there are some Underlanders that would be willing to travel to your world just to stir up trouble. Keep an eye out for anything else suspicious…_ " and with that, he faded away into the glass, leaving no sign that he was ever even there.

            The seven of us stood silently for a moment, exchanging worried glances between each other and our reflections. We each hoped and prayed that this would all blow over soon, but in reality, this incident would be only the first of many.

            This was the beginning of something beyond our darkest nightmares…


	2. Chapter 1 - Hello to Goodbye

**_Allyson_ **

 

Somehow, even though it’s billions and billions of miles away, the freaking Sun always manages to hit me square in the eyes _every_ … _single_ … _morning_. Rolling over does nothing, since I have enormous windows on either side of the bed, and the curtains aren’t thick enough to block out all of the light, so I’m forced to roll out of the warmth and into the cold October day…

            Halloween day, to be precise.

            At least I have something to look forward to after my rude awakening by Mother Nature…this evening, the rest of the band and I are hosting a huge All Hallows Eve concert party at my mom’s house, and we invited most of our senior classmates from the high school. Costumes, of course, are mandatory, so Amber and I have been slaving over ours for weeks ahead of time to make sure that they come out perfectly epic.

            Just as they do any other time they have to wear something other than t-shirts and jeans, Trevor, Sam, Luke, and Matt have been protesting since we started working on theirs that they would rather be chased by a rabid dog than have to walk around dressed up all night. Tony doesn't particularly mind though. I replied that I could easily have that arranged after the concert, without even looking up from my sketchpad. They grumbled aloud no more, for they knew that Roxi got awfully excited when she saw anybody from the Wonderland Warriors in the house, and she's a considerably large dog that's awfully fond of licking people's faces.

            After stretching all the stiffness out of my arms, I finally rolled off the mattress and padded over to my speakers, turning my MP3 player to “ _Funhouse_ " by P!nk and cranking the volume up as loud as it can go.

            Dancing along to the beat, I skidded down the hallway and into the bathroom in

my socks à la Tom Cruise in “ _Risky Business_ ”. Though I not-so-gracefully smacked into the doorjamb, Roxi was the only one around to notice, so I brushed it off while attempting to brush the knots out of my almost waist-length hair.

            None of the other Warriors were expected to show up at my place until 3o’clock, so the ringing of our doorbell startled me to the point of almost dropping the tooth brush that was now in my hand. Knowing I was probably the only one awake, even though it was well past 10:00, I trotted down our staircase and into the foyer, opening the door and was surprised by Trevor standing on my front steps. We had broken up in our freshman year, after we realized that we just weren't meant to be…so now we're more like brother and sister. Granted a really _awkward_ brother and sister…but I digress.

            He looked a little angry, “Hey, mind if I come in?” he huffed.

            “Sure, what’s the matter?”

            “It’s nothing. Mom’s just driving me crazy. I need to get out of the house for a while.”

            Cary, who was basically my second mother, wasn’t normally one to drive someone crazy, not even her three actual kids. She never really harped on anything for long, and she never fussed over any of us unless it was something super important, “What do you mean? Did something happen? ” I tried to put my hand on his shoulder, but he shrugged me off.

            “I’ll explain later. I just wanna stay here for a little while, before everybody else gets here and it gets crazy.”

            Still not convinced that everything was alright, I led him upstairs and told him to wait in my drawing room while I finished getting ready. He lingered in the hallway for a few minutes, looking at framed pictures of the band all over the wall, but eventually went in and sat at my desk in the corner next to the closet.

            I finished pulling my hair back, applied a generous helping of my cleansing facial scrub, and changed into some shorts and red a tank top that went under my costume. When I opened the door, Roxi was laying at Trevor’s side, her paws sticking straight up in the air, begging for some attention. He scratched her belly for a few minutes until he realized I was there.

            “Now, are you gonna tell me what’s going on?” I sat on my drawing bench in front of him.

            He shook his head, “No, not yet. I want everybody to be here so I only have to repeat it twenty times instead of forty.” he replied.

            “Ugh… tease.” I stuck my tongue out at him, “Did you even bother to bring your costume, by the way?”

            He shot me a fake glare, “Yeah, it’s in the backseat. I knew you’d kill me if I didn’t have it.” he sighed.

            “Good boy. I’m gonna take a shot in the dark and say you don’t want to get ready just yet, huh? ”

            “Bull's-eye.”

            “Funny…” I ran into the closet to fish mine out of the back and hunt for my boots.

 

**_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~_ **

       **_Allyson_**

 

            After we’d scrounged up something for lunch and watched a few episodes of the _“Beetlejuice”_ cartoon, the others began arriving to get ready for the party.

            Maccay had carpooled with Mayo and our other friend, Sam, who had joined us about three years ago. Looking back now, the way he got into the band is actually kinda funny, but I didn’t think so at the time…

            It was 7am on a Saturday morning, and I was dead asleep after staying up all night for a Harry Potter marathon. From what I remember, I was in the middle of a dream where Professor Snape had come back from the dead and was turning Lord Voldemort’s pet snake into a rather fashionable handbag and pair of boots when my phone suddenly started blaring a heavy metal ringtone. Reluctantly awakening from the avenging of the potions master, I answered the phone in a zombie-like state, “Sam…somebody better either be dead, dying or coming back from the dead…which and who is it?”

            “ _Um…none of the above…but I want to show you something!_ ”

            “Do you really think _NOW_ is the best time to show me something? Do you have any idea what time it is man? ” I grumbled, rubbing sleep from my eyes.

            “ _But it’s really important! I figured out what I can do for the band since I can’t play any instruments and technology hates me! **Please**!? _”

            I groaned with as much disdain as I could muster before sunrise, “ ** _Fine_** …this had better be worth my time, or you’re gonna get a rude awakening tomorrow morning.” untangling myself from the sheets where I had thrashed around in an epic battle between me and the Dark Lord himself, “How long is it gonna take for you to get here?”

            “ _I’m already outside. I’ve been trying to call you since 6:30, but you didn’t answer…_ ”

            “Gee…I wonder **_why_**?! Urgh…I’ll be outside in a second, let me get dressed.”

            _Click_.

            I pulled on a housecoat over my pajamas and slipped on my bedroom shoes, and barely managed to get the brush through the bird nest on top of my head before a text message came through from his phone, warning me not to do anything to my mop of thick hair. Obeying the message, I snuck downstairs and out the front door to find him standing in the middle of our driveway, clutching a huge black duffle bag.

            My eyebrows immediately went up, “Uh…are you gonna be the band’s illegal contraband dealer? What’s with the bag? ”

            He motioned toward the bus, “Come in here with me, I have to show you ‘cause you won’t believe me if I just tell you!”

            Rather apprehensively, I followed him into the vessel for our country-wide tours and other long trips. Sam threw the bag onto the seat in the kitchen area and pulled up a stool, patting the seat and calling me forward. Eyeing him suspiciously, I took the seat and turned with my back to him.

            “What is it exactly that you’re going to do to me, Sam?”

            “Just hold still. I’ve been practicing this all week with a friend of mine.” he attempted to reassure me, “She’s a real expert on this stuff.” The duffle bag unzipped behind me, and I heard the distinct clattering of various hair care products as he dug around inside, “Samuel Harned, I’d suggest you drop the scissors, ‘cause that ain’t happening today buddy. It's taken me since 3rd grade to get it this long.” I growled, holding my hand out until he relinquished the pair of clippers.

            I don’t have any clue how long we were in there, or what it was that he did, but I walked off that bus with my hair fit for a visit with royalty! My chin-length bangs were teased, so that they stood well out of my eyes but still maintained the little flip at the ends. The rest of my hair was piled on top of my head in intricate braids that swirled around each other. There were surprisingly no fly-aways; each strand stayed perfectly in place, no matter how much I shook my head in disbelief.

            “Sooo…what do ya think?” he asked eagerly.

            “It’s…amazing!” I was almost afraid to touch it for fear that the plaits would instantly unravel, but it remained even as I tugged at the strands, noticing the absence of hair spray or even a hair bow! Normally, it would take bottles and bottles of spray and fifty million Bobby Pins, but somehow Sam managed to get the style to stay in without anything to hold it. It was a miracle!

            “Does that mean I get to be the official hairdresser?”

            “Heck yes! Anybody that can tame this mess with something short of a magic wand gets the job automatically.” I was unable to return to bed for the rest of the day, not wanting to lie on my hair and risk undoing it. Sam’s been handling our troublesome tresses ever since.

            C'Lee and Lucy were the next to arrive together, though they were in separate cars. Over the past few years, the two of them had become much more distinct, especially in appearance. Lucy had let her hair grow out almost as long as mine, and put several colored strips in it here and there, while C'Lee opted to shorten hers into a pixie cut. C usually sported a pair of circular wire-rimmed glasses, and her sister stuck with contact lenses, for the most part. They even lived apart from each other ( _though it was only by a few blocks_ ). The only thing that never really changed, however, was their almost identical taste in clothes, which kept them matching nine times out of ten, whether it was planned or not. That and they still never agreed on anything else.

Matt's black Mustang was the third vehicle to pull in, and I didn't even have to look out the window to tell who it was. The rumble of its engine was loud and sharp enough that I could quite literally **_hear_** him coming from the very end of the driveway. He parked it a good distance from the other cars because _Heaven forbid_ the dust from somebody else's car should blow onto the shimmering wax job. I rolled my eyes as his alarm sounded, indicating that the doors were locked and the security system was armed, because it was highly likely that somebody was doing to come up my endless driveway **_specifically_** to take his ride.

Tony, our makeup artist and expert on all things fabulous about the facial area, made his grand entrance a few minutes later, lugging his enormous sack of cosmetics behind him. He had refused to allow any of us to do our own, even for this somewhat private concert, insisting that we must always look our very best…meaning that **_he_** had to be in charge. No one had objected, for fear of being lectured about our lackluster technique and mediocre skills. He didn’t mean anything personal by it, but Tony actually was a bit more experienced in this department than the rest of us, having helped his mom sell beauty products since he was seven.

His sister Amber, the group trouble maker and assistant costume designer, slunk out of the backseat of their lime green VW Beetle carrying both of their costumes in her slender arms. Her multicolored hair swished back and forth as she screamed some choice words at her sibling for his mistaken belief that she was a pack mule. He said nothing in return, other than threatening to trip her when she came in the door if she didn't hush, which earned him an unbalanced kick in the shin as she strode by.

Ever since 9th grade, when I first met Tony and Amber in art class, these two had been fighting like cats and dogs nonstop. Not like Lucy and C'Lee's verbal battles, I mean in some cases it got physical very quickly. We've yet to decide who has the shorter temper, but it's a unanimous vote when it comes to who hits harder ( _almost all of us have gotten caught in the crossfire once or twice_ ), in which case Amber takes the championship boxing belt. She's got a mean right hook! Not to mention her legs have all the force of a peeved kangaroo. Luckily for me, the class I took with her in second semester was a good indicator of what to expect from her, so it's not like we were surprised the first time she took a swing at her brother during rehearsals.

Their story with us began one peaceful January morning. We had been sitting quietly in first period, in Mr. McClain's drawing class specifically, and all of us were working on a piece that illustrated our "dream job". Mine was covered in calligraphic words and ink stains, with the tip of a feather quill on one side, because my dream job ( _after the Warriors disband at least_ ) is to be a writer. I'd wanted to be an author since I was in 6th grade…and I did a little writing on the side when we started the band. Another aspiration of mine was to be a fashion designer, which apparently I shared with Amber. She had been sitting at the same table as me for the past week or so, after tiring of the ditzy girls at the one she was originally sitting at, and had stricken up a conversation with me about our pictures. Her sketches were eccentrically designed to the point of near impracticality and extremely “ _colorful_ " to put it mildly. The teacher and I both were intrigued by what she had classified as "just doodles", but Tony, who sat on the other side of me, was not impressed by her work.

"Nice sis, they look like a pack of Sharpies exploded on your paper." He rolled his eyes and kept penciling the outline of an eye and a pair of lips. His career choice was obviously in the makeup department.

Her icy blue eyes narrowed to slits, "At least it doesn't look like a five-year-old drew it." She retorted, mocking his almost flawless drawing.

Tony's comeback was swift, "A **_monkey_** could draw better than you. But really there's not much of a difference in IQ **_or_** hand-eye coordination."

"You're one to talk; at least my hair isn't reminiscent of an **_orangutan_**."

"Yours looks more like somebody dumped flour and food coloring on your head."

That was when the first punch flew, missing me by only centimeters. Amber managed to sock Tony dead in the jaw, knocking him to the ground. The whole class was soon stunned into silence as the pair rolled around on the floor, locked in a battle to the bitter end…the bitter end being when McClain and about five other students pulled the two of them apart, and four of them escorted her to the office. From what I heard later that day, not only did she black Tony's eye and bust his lip, she bit one of the guys that took her to the principal, tried to head-butt two of them, scratched the fourth so badly that he was bleeding, and kicked and screamed the entire way up there.

Tony walked himself up to the office after the bell rang, and Amber had been literally dragged to detention. Since he had refused to take her bag to the detention room, I offered to bring it to her on my way to my Zoology class. When I arrived, she sheepishly apologized for me being caught in the middle of their little spat, and for him being "such a moron". I couldn't help but laugh a little, and it rather shocked her when I offered for the two of them to sit with the band at lunch ( _after their punishment was up, of course_ ). Amber accepted the invitation, and swore that she and Tony would sit as far apart as they could, so as to prevent a repeat of their death match in the middle of a crowded cafeteria. Later that same day, I realized that they rode the same bus home as I did, and that Amber sat in the seat behind me. Normally, I would've been too engrossed in the music from my MP3 player to notice, but her snow white and rainbow tipped hair caught my eye almost immediately. She quickly abandoned her otherwise empty seat to join me and hasn't moved from that spot ( _willingly_ _that is_ ) from that day forward.

Then, last but most definitely not least, the silver Taurus I'd been eagerly awaiting pulled in, and my boyfriend of three and a half years, Luke, stepped out with his costume slung over his shoulder. We met in our second semester of 9th grade during our English class, which was taught by his older sister, Jamie. Just like every other freshman Language Arts class in America, we were required to read Shakespeare's _Romeo & Juliet_ as part of our standards. I was originally cast as Tybalt, due to the lack of a male population in our class ( _there were only five out of all twenty-three of us_ ) and Luke traded his role of Benvolio with Matt to be Romeo. How did this lead to us dating, you ask? To be quite truthful, I believe it was fate that our Juliet was absent on the day of the famous "balcony scene", and that my lucky number, seven, was the number that Jamie was thinking of when she was picking from the volunteers.

We had never really talked much before then, but we both read the lines like we'd known each other for years, and actually got a round of applause after we finished. As the bell rang, Maccay and the twins pointed out ( _rather loudly, might I add_ ) that he was going to the same Health & Fitness class as us. He was walking with Matt to the gym, so I caught up with them and shyly greeted him with, "Hey Romeo." We went on our first date a month later, and we revealed our connections to Underland that same night, after we'd both returned home. Needless to say, I was much more surprised than him that someone as quiet and seemingly normal ( _compared to what I was used to anyhow_ ) as he was could tolerate the inhabitants of the underground world. He told me he could see me fitting in with that bunch because I had a certain "quirkiness" to my personality…he thought it was cute though, so I didn't mind.

"You already dressed, honey? I thought it didn't start until six?" he pulled me to him as he walked in, and kissed me just before I could answer.

"Mmhmm…I just need to get my makeup and hair done. That always takes forever, so I figured I'd go ahead and get dressed to speed things along." I couldn't help the Cheshire grin spreading across my face; he just always made me smile whenever he was around.

He raised his eyebrow, "You know I think you don't **_need_** all that makeup. And your hair looks just fine the way it is." He scolded me, brushing a loose strand away from my face.

I could feel my cheeks getting warm, "It's just part of the costume."

"Alright. You gonna help Amber with everybody's outfits when you get done? "

            "If she isn't already **_done_** by then…which I doubt, since she's a perfectionist like I am."

Tony abruptly appeared and grabbed hold of my arm, dragging me off to prepare for the party, "C'mon lovebird, there will be time for being googly-eyed later!"

            "Alright, alright I'm comin'! Don't rush me!"

 

**_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~_ **

**_Allyson_ **

 

            Three hours, eleven costumes, and pounds of makeup ( _but next to no hairspray_ ) later, we were all finally dressed, just in time for the first guests to arrive. All the fake cobwebs, tombstones, and skeletons were in place, and the dry ice fog was rolling across the floor. Nox Arcana's haunting music thumped from the speakers in every corner, setting the tone for the evening. I watched the throng of partiers pour in the front door, all wearing different shades of the rainbow or dressed as different creatures of the night. The theme of the party was Masquerade, so everybody was required to wear some sort of mask with their costume; whether they were wearing a store-bought ensemble, or they’d built their outfit from various sources. Amber and I had actually ordered all our masks blank, and we’d drawn the designs on them ourselves with fabric markers and paint.

I was the only one without an actual mask; my Wonderland denizen of choice required an eye patch rather than the traditional face covering. Stayne thought it was hilarious that I was dressed up like him for Halloween, but he failed to see the humor in my statement that it was the scariest one I could find. He argued that Absolem would’ve been more fear-instilling, but I reminded him that the Butterfly was only frightening if you needed a question answered flat out in a short amount of time.

By 6:45 all the guests had gotten here and were already chatting and dancing the night away. Our band’s show wasn’t for another fifteen minutes, but we were already prepping the “stage” for our performance. Well, the guys were anyway; the girls and I were sitting around the edge of it, dangling our feet off the side. There were too many wires and too much junk to trip over for us to do anything but “supervise” in our high heels and clunky boots. The crowd almost instantly noticed we were onstage, and some of them began chanting for the act to begin.

            We managed to stall the riot until everything was plugged in properly and the microphone stopped screeching. Luke and Trevor trooped over to the portable sound booth and plugged their ears with their headsets, and the rest of us climbed up to our instruments.

            Putting on my best Dracula voice, I grabbed the mic and greeted the crowd, "Good evening goblins and ghouls…are you ready for some terrifying tunes and spooky songs?" A few chuckles rippled through the throng of partiers, but it was mostly drowned out by the applause and whistles, "Alright then…here's one of my personal favorites to start us off…the Marilyn Manson version of " _This is Halloween_ " guys, page 3 in your sheet music if you need it." I added under my breath to the other performers.

            Maccay and Mayo had just started shredding the beginning of the song on their guitars when the sound suddenly went dead as a graveyard. The speakers began crackling, the lights were flickering on and off, and everybody was freaking out.

            "Uh…everybody just calm down! It's ok! There must be a storm or something coming this way…just a few technical difficulties! Nothing to worry about guys!" I tried to reassure them ( _and myself_ ) that this would pass, but there was a feeling in the pit of my stomach that that was a horrible lie. Landing with a startling _thump_ on the floor, I jogged back to the sound booth, "What the **_Futterwacken_** is going on back here?!"

            Both boys shrugged hopelessly, "We don't have a clue honey, nothing will turn on. There's not any bad weather tonight either, so that's not what's doing this to the equipment." Luke fiddled around with various dials and buttons, but nothing happened. The static didn't go away, and the lights continued to sputter off and on, "You don't think there's a short in a wire or something do you? " he removed his headphones from around his neck and laid them on the board.

            "A short in **_one_** wire wouldn't do all of **_this_** , especially since the band stuff is hooked up **_separately_** from the house's electricity. We decided to use that generator for the concert, remember? " Being the penny-pincher he is, my dad didn't want to run up the power bill by plugging in our band's equipment into the wall outlets, so he went out and bought a huge generator just for us, "It's brand new, so it wouldn't be messing up already…and we checked the amps' and instruments' cables hours ago."

            Trevor, who'd been unusually quiet since everyone else had arrived, spoke up, "Actually, I think I know what's happening…but I want the whole band to hear this together." He looked up at me from his rolling office chair, "Can you delay the concert for a bit, so I can explain?"

            My stomach sank even further with just one look at the troubled expression on his face, and I nodded before climbing back onstage, "Ok guys, we're having some problems backstage…so we'll have to delay the concert portion of the party for just a little while. We shouldn't take long, so just try to relax and chat amongst yourselves. Band people, come with me." Our instruments were quickly abandoned as the rest of the crew followed me upstairs to my bedroom. Tony, Sam and Amber soon joined us from the sea of people, having been mingling with some other friends for most of the night.

            As we gathered around Trevor, the air around us became tense and heavy, giving off a foreboding vibe. He seemed to sink lower and lower into the mattress the closer we got to him, like he secretly wanted to disappear between it and the box spring.

            "Ok dude, spill it. Do you know what's up or what?" Sam demanded, clearly wigged out by all the commotion this was causing.

All eyes turned to the bed where Trevor was, each pair trying to stare the answer out of him. His darted around from face to face, as if he were searching for a reply outside of his own mind, "Well…do any of you remember those freaky dreams we had a few years ago? Just before our freshman year?" he began shakily, "I think this may have something to do with them."

My heart skipped five beats at once, and there was a collective gasp around the room. Even the ones who weren't band members at the time looked horrified…had they experienced the same nightmares we did?

" _What_ …what do you mean by that?" C'Lee whimpered.

He sighed heavily, putting his head in his hands, "I saw the black mirrors with the red eyes again, a few months ago. I didn't think much of it until **_crazy_** stuff started happening at the house…pictures with all of us in them would get moved around, our mirrors would turn up missing for days and would reappear in **_super_** weird places, the dogs would bark at **_nothing_** in the middle of the night…"

"And you didn't tell any of us this because… **WHY** exactly?!" Amber chastised him, "There better be a **_great_** reason that you didn't say anything until now!"

"I didn't want to worry anybody…"

"Seriously?"

"Sorry…I didn't think that it would lead to this. Mom and Page started noticing it, and it's really freaking them out. Charlie won't even sleep by himself anymore." He rubbed his temples, "It's gotten so bad here lately that…well…"

Tony crossed his arms and leaned forward, "Well what? What is it? "

"Trevor c'mon man, what's wrong?" Matt was tensed up, like he was waiting for the worst news of his life.

"Mom wants to leave…for good. She doesn't feel like we're _safe_ here anymore. And I think she's right." He finished, "I just thought I'd be able to wait until this concert was over before I told you, but it looks like whatever has been in my house has followed me here…so I have to go."

No one moved, no one breathed. No protests escaped from anyone's lips.

Except for the chilling scream from downstairs.

Temporarily forgetting the loss we had just suffered, all of us raced to the banister overlooking the party to see what was going on. A horrifying sight met our eyes…

A black mist floated above the floor, encircling the guests' feet and sliding up the tables and the stairs. Shapes rose and fell from the vapors, forcing people against the wall and behind tables; eerie noises emerged from the shapes…squeals and shrieks of such high pitches that I thought my ears would start bleeding.

"The heck is that?!" Lucy screamed over the shrill wails. As we tried in vain to drown out the noise by covering our ears with our hands, we also failed to give her an answer.

We huddled together on the landing, hoping and praying that the fog didn't swallow anyone or anything in the house. Several people were trying to get the front door, and even the windows open to escape, but the cloud of smoke had us all locked in from every angle; any potential exit was sealed off by a thick, black haze.

"What're we supposed to do?!" Mayo cried out just as the light bulbs burst and plunged us in to total darkness. The mob below went into full panic mode, with howls of sheer terror filling the whole house and frantic beating thundering against the barrier between them and freedom. My heart was racing like a horse at full gallop, and I could actually feel it beating inside my chest. It hit me full-on just how helpless we really were against something like this…and how I really should've seen this coming a million miles away. That night when the names faded from the parchment, the night-terrors we all had…they were such obvious signs, but we had all been blind to them this whole time! And now others were going to pay for our oversight…

The air around us turned blistering cold, our quivering breath visible in the pitch black. A crimson red orb appeared in the center of the mist, and then split into a pair of demon-like eyes which gazed into the sea of fear-stricken teenagers. All the yowling was suddenly silenced, and from the eyes came a voice that could only belong to an evil being. It spoke directly to the band members, calling us out as if it were proposing a challenge, " _You so-called **Wonderland Warriahs** 'ad best prepare fo' a battle dat will test how worthy you ahre of that name…If you fail…Underland won't be de **only** world to fall to pieces…_" it warned, adding menacing laughter for effect.

Though we were petrified by this threat of world destruction, an abrupt eruption of light from behind us shook us to our senses, and everyone turned just in time to see a brilliant figure glide down the staircase and lunge at the dark mass already present. The two clouds wrestled and merged together in the middle of the room, twisting and writhing as one enormous veil of mist. Even more unearthly sounds came from the battling forms, and bigger silhouettes arose from them to claw and tear at each other. Most of the partygoers were in hysterics at this point, wailing and sobbing like banshees in a huddled mass just out of the reach of the rumble.

" ** _Another_** one?!" Maccay gripped the railing and stared in awe at the roiling fog beneath us. The twins and Amber scanned the upper floor for any sign of more creatures.

" ** _What_** is going **_on_** here?!" I clutched my head in frustration. This was getting entirely too out of hand!

As if it wasn't already overflowing with organisms not of this realm, the White Queen, Mirana of Marmoreal appeared out of the blue ( _or, more accurately, out of my bathroom_ _mirror_ ) looking rather frazzled, " ** _Begone_** shadow creatures! **_Return_** from whence you hail from, you **_demon_** **_spirits_**! **_Flee_** to your master and do **_not_** come back to this world!" she commanded as she stepped over the threshold of my room, brandishing her glowing scepter. When her colorless form became visible over the balcony, the fighting ceased almost instantly, and both beings let out terrible screams before fading away altogether. Any people not hunkered down with their heads between their knees gawked up at the queen in amazement.

I was a little more ruffled than excited to see her, but I managed to sound enthusiastic, "You're sure a sight for sore eyes, your majesty. Though I thought your forte was in brewing potions, not **_exorcisms_** …"

She smiled coolly, "Luck favors the prepared, dear. I dabble in several magic arts in my spare time." Mirana turned to greet the other occupants of the veranda, most of whom had never met her before, but stopped short like something was amiss.

"What?"

She did a double-take, and then shook it off, "Oh nothing…but weren't there eleven of you just a moment ago?"

We all turned and counted each other, and then realized who'd slunk off while no one was looking, " ** _Trevor_**!" I boomed, gripping the banister and glowering down to the now closing front door that he'd escaped from, "That **_chicken_**! He just **_left_** us! He left!" Luke pulled me back so that I wouldn't run after him and put my shiny leather boot where the Sun doesn't shine. Trevor's mask lay discarded on the floor, a final memento left like Cinderella's glass slipper at midnight.

Mirana was suddenly very tense and curt when she spoke, "Indeed he is. He told me of his departure only a few nights ago, and I've been rather upset with him since then." There was sadness beneath her anger, though it was limited to her eyes and didn't breach the surface of her face.

The rest of the band exchanged looks of disbelief while I grappled with my swelling anger, "I mean…I understand that he's worried about whatever's been in his house but he…that's no reason to **_abandon_** us! If we'd all stuck together, maybe we could've figured out what's going on…too late for that now I guess."

"Did anyone else in Underland know he was leaving?" Lucy asked the question that was on all our minds. I had a feeling that at least one other person knew, but for his sake I hoped I was wrong. I really didn't feel like putting forth the effort to chew him out for not telling anybody.

She nodded, "Absolem knew."

I was livid.

"Oh, so that slimy little cretin is too high and mighty to let us know, ' _Oh hey, one of your best friends since you were four years old, your fellow band member, and one of only ten other people who knows of the existence of a magical world that you regularly travel to is about to hit the road and never speak to you again._ ', is he?! Not to mention we'll lose **_all_** the memories that we shared with Trevor! Gee thanks **_Absolem_**!" he'd gone and done it now. This was the straw that broke the Bandersnatch's back. I'd had quite enough of the Butterfly hiding things like this from me…from all of us.

The White Queen seemed taken aback by my outburst, her eyes wide in shock, "I'm sure this must be upsetting for you all, but I can assure you that this is not **_entirely_** Absolem's fault. He was given this information on such short notice that he didn't have enough time to tell you."

" ** _Bull_**! If he had a few days, that was **_plenty_** of time to let us know! I hope you came here to take us back with you Mirana, because I have some **_choice_** words for that over-grown worm with wings…"

Her mood lightened slightly, "Actually, yes, that's what I had originally come here for. I was coming to tell you some much better news, as a matter of fact…"

Matt groaned, "That better not be sarcasm, your majesty..."

"Not at all dear... We also learned recently that Alice will be returning tomorrow morning." She was genuinely smiling now, "The other Underland rulers and I are holding a ball in her honor, and you are all invited."

Briefly forgetting my rage, I managed to crack a tiny smile.

 

**_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~_ **

**_Allyson_ **

 

Mirana cast another powerful spell over our guests, so that time would not pass in our lengthy absence, and we all prepared to make a trip to Marmoreal. There wasn't enough time or really a need to change clothes for the ball, so we just stayed in our costumes and masks. Remembering the mysterious ability I had during my first legitimate trip to change clothes according to my current situation, I wondered if everyone would be able to switch their wardrobe without their own knowledge like I had. Most of the time I hadn't noticed it unless someone made a remark about it…Underland is such a curious place sometimes!

Ok, **_most_** of the time. And it was a little more than **_curious_**.

All of us were lined up in front of the vanity mirror in my bathroom, the very same one that Stayne had appeared in that night a few years ago, and the White Queen was instructing us on how to use a Looking-Glass Portal.

"Alright, now everyone take the hands of the people next to you, and whatever happens…do **_not_** , under **_any_** circumstances, let go until we are **_all_** on the other side of the mirror. If you do, you will be transported elsewhere in Underland, and none of us will know where you went." She advised us, "Now Lucy, you take my hand, and all of you come this way…" and with that, she walked right through the sink and cabinet as if it weren't there and into the place beyond the mirror.

Being a little apprehensive about walking through solid objects, a few of us hesitated before following in her footsteps. However, we all melted into them effortlessly and soon emerged in a shimmering room made of nothing but reflective glass. Everywhere we looked we stared ourselves in the eye thousands of times, our clones mimicking our every move. It reminded me of the funhouses at fairs and carnivals and their Mirror Mazes, where one wrong step would lead you to a dead end.

"You may let go now, we're all safely across." We all dropped hands and stood in wonderment at the room around us.

"Are these all different portals?" C'Lee looked at her twin beside her, and then at the one in front of her. Lucy did the same and they both laughed.

"No, this is only one. Each portal looks different. This is the one into my throne room…I figured it would be the best one to come out of with so many of us coming through at once."

            "How many are there?"

            I remembered Absolem telling me about each of the Looking-Glasses, "There's at least one in each place and usually one that's hidden for emergency escapes; two in Marmoreal, four in the Mushroom Forest, two in the Garden of Live Flowers, there **_were_** three in Salazen Grum when Iracebeth was there, but I highly doubt they'll even open now, and the original two in Tulgey Wood."

            "Wow…are there any other ones outside of your queendom?"

            Mirana glided over to the other end of the chamber, "It's possible, but I do not know for certain. Come, come now... Don’t tarry too long…" we all joined hands again and trailed behind her as she entered her throne room.

            Several familiar faces awaited us on the other side; Chessur, the Tweedles, Mallymkun, McTwisp and the March Hare were all gathered on either side of the mirror. The only ones I didn't see were the Hatter, Stayne and Absolem.

            Well, perhaps I spoke too soon about one of them…

            "Allyson." A deceivingly deep voice stated from atop the gilded frame. A pair of black and blue wings fluttered gently, "Glad you made it here safely. I heard about the smoke creatures that got through."

            I could almost feel my eyes narrow and my face grow red, "Yeah, well there's a few things that I would've liked to have heard about **_before_** they happened, not ** _after_** the fact.”

            He flew off of the mirror and hovered in front of my face, "If you mean Trevor, then you have every right to be angry, but you have to understand-"  
            "Understand **_what_**?! That you can't even tell me the **_simplest_** thing that may mean life or death? You didn't even bother to tell me about the **_Jabberwocky_** last time I was here, so I don't know why I was so shocked that you knew about him leaving!"

            He didn't bother to counter my accusations, "Understand that it was too **_dangerous_** for anyone to cross between our worlds at the time. You saw what happened when Mirana came to get you all; the two smoke demons got out of Underland and into your very house!"

            "And whose fault is that? **_Who's_** the guardian of all the portals in and out of here? Of any magical artifact not under someone **_else's_** protection?" I snarled, "Isn’t it **_you_** Absolem?"

            His wings flapped more rapidly, "Every one of my most powerful defensive spells was put on all of the portals and yet they still broke through. No amount of any magic that **_I_** could conjure could've held them back. I'm not the **_only_** one with powers here you know."

            Actually, I didn't know that he wasn't the only mystic being down here, but I wasn't letting on that much. We scowled at each other for a moment before I realized that everyone else had already left the room, and I ducked under him and went to find the others.

He didn't follow.

 

**_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~_ **

**_Allyson_ **

 

            Everyone was assembled outside in the courtyard, talking excitedly and milling about beneath the fading pink blossoms of the trees. Just as I began to meld into the group and exchange greetings, the sound of pounding hooves and rumbling paws reached my ears from beyond the gates. We all turned in time to see a blur of grey go flying by, followed by the Mad Hatter perched atop the Bandersnatch.

            Tarrant looked a little down in the dumps when he first arrived, but the moment he saw all of us, he must've realized what we were there for, "So it's **_true_** then! Alice **_is_** coming back!" he smiled, all the colors on him brightening instantly. He ran over and embraced Mayo, twirling her around in delight.

            "Why else would this hooligan be here?" another voice asked from behind us. I didn't even have to look to know who it belonged to, "Man, Mirana just lets anybody in here, doesn't she?"

            "Yeah, you're welcome for that, by the way." We both smirked.

            "Nice costume. Make it yourself, did you?" I realized his eye patch was gone, replaced by the long, thin scar that covered his eye. All that was left of it was a narrow outline.

            "That's why it looks so good."

            He snickered, "Well, it **_is_** modeled after **_me_** so…"

            Pretending to cringe from his ( _admittedly very clever_ ) comeback, I threw my hands up in mock defeat, "Alright, ya got me! That was a good one."

            "When I heard you were coming, I decided to brush up on my wisecracking."

            "I see. Then I have taught you well, young master." Both of us chuckling, he pulled me over to him and we hugged each other tightly. I suddenly remembered how much I had missed this place…and all of my friends here.


	3. Chapter 2 - Awaiting Alice's Arrival

**_Allyson_ **

 

The Clubs were the first to arrive for the grand ball, given that they were the closest to Marmoreal and had no serious geographical hurdles to jump over. Their soldiers' purple and silver uniforms reminded me vaguely of samurai soldiers; the helmets looked as though they were meant for intimidation. They each had a sword that appeared similar to my Vorpal Blade and the armor was thin, but I had a feeling it would take a lot to pierce it. The ordinary citizens all had long, dark hair, eyes that were colors of the dawn. Their king was wearing a deep violet kimono that was trimmed in silver, and his long black and grey hair was trailing down his shoulder in a thick braid, giving him the air of an ancient Japanese shogun. He grinned broadly when he caught sight of the White Queen, “Ah Mirana! How long it’s been!” he stepped out of his amethyst and grey carriage and bowed as she approached.

            “We’re so glad you could make it Sunyi…it has been quite a while since we’ve all been called together hasn’t it?”

            “We were much younger, the last time I recall…”

            Still somewhat mesmerized by the sea of indigo and silver, I glanced up at Ilosovic, “Do they have a knight or a knave, or something like that? Or is that just our thing? ”

            He smirked, “Oh no, they’ve got one…she’s bringing up the rear I believe.”

            “She?”

            “That’s her, right over there. See the big grey horse?” Sam nodded toward a hulking Appaloosa with a mane and tail that almost touched the ground that was following behind the other carriages. Indeed, there was a rather petite lady sitting on its back, her dark brown hair nearly as long as her horse's, “That’s Saleen. She’s the one I’ve been with…” Sam noted.

            I snickered, “She the one who taught you how to do hair?”

            “How’d you guess?”

            Saleen soon spotted Stayne and immediately leapt off her horse, “Ahh! ‘Losovic! What are you doing here, I thought you were with Iracebeth?!” her voice had a thick, rolling accent, and even though she was hardly taller than me, she managed to get her arms around his neck.

            “Well, thanks to Allyson I’m not.” he nudged me forward.

            Her eyes, that I suddenly realized were a bright pinkish-purple, widened, “Yes, yes I remember. She’s the one that beat the stuffing out of you and then saved your rear end, eh?”

            His face flushed bright red, “Yeah…”

            “That’s me!”

            She winked mischievously, “Trust me kiddo, you aren’t the first lady to one-up him. It’s been kind of a trend since we were kids for the girls to use him as a practice dummy.”

            “Hey, hey, hey!” he jumped to his own defense, “The only reason you beat me that one time is because **_somebody_** was distracting me…” he turned and stared pointedly at the Hatter, who then proceeded to look in the same direction, even though no one was beside him.

            “I've no idea what he's talking about…” Tarrant chuckled.

            Just as Stayne was about to remind him, another platoon of soldiers paraded across the drawbridge, covered in spikes and all decked in forest green and gold. Unlike the Clubs, who were willowy and had hair down to at least their knees, the Spades ( _I guessed, judging by the insignia on the soldiers' breastplates_ ) were short and stocky with shaggy, coarse hair that came in all shades of orange, green, yellow, and browns. Their eyes were the same hues, and their clothes were ragged and worn, like they’d been working outdoors all day. The people were mostly very bulky, and rather short men, with a few women ( _well they **looked** like women_) here and there.

            Their king was a stocky, sinewy looking fellow that was reminiscent of a professional football player. His eyes were a dusty gold-like color, and his hair was a pale grassy green. He had a deep, booming voice that startled me when he first spoke out, “How grand it is to return to Marmoreal! I trust that my two good friends are well, Mirana, Sunyi? ” he thundered, though I didn’t catch the rest of their conversation.

            “I wonder where Elias is.” Saleen nudged Ilosovic with her elbow, “Last I heard of him, he was still the _Knave_ of Spades…”

            Tony, who had been previously occupied with readjusting his gloves, decided to pop into the conversation, “Oh, he’s the Knight now…he hasn't stopped talking about it since it happened. That was almost six months ago.”

            “Hmm, not bad for the runt of the litter…took him long enough, eh?”

            “I don’t really have any room to talk about that…it’s only been four years since Mirana knighted me.” Stayne shrugged, “Eli was only a knave for two, so he actually beat both of us.”

            “Methinks my ears are burnin’…you lot wouldn’t be talkin’ about me, now would ya? ” a lanky little boy, probably eleven years old at the most, called as he leapt off a thick-built Palomino and strutted to our small gathering. His hair was feathery and straw-colored, and his eyes glimmered blue like the ocean.

            “We wouldn’t be if you didn’t give us so much to talk about.”

            “Congrats on being made a knight, pipsqueak. What brave and noble deed got you in? ” Stayne thumped him on the back.

            “Oi, take it easy on me! I’m still a mite sore from it…” Elias rolled his shoulder before continuing, “Had to help ward off a horde of bluddy Mome Raths…they were eatin’ everythin’ in sight! Everythin’ that didn’t move, that is.”

            Saleen and Ilosovic suddenly began cackling, “ _Mome Raths?!_ You got knighted because you helped get rid of some _Mome Raths?!_ ” Saleen giggled.

            From what I've been told, Mome Raths aren't much of a serious threat; they're only about four inches tall and fuzzy, with big round eyes and they make little peeping noises. Despite the fact that they can and will eat almost anything, they're actually kind of cute. I didn't quite get how someone could be knighted for doing away with such tiny creatures.

            “Well a bunch of ‘em latched onto the king and I got ‘em off for ‘im. All without tearing any fabric on his precious suit.” he grumbled, “Used a sword to cut ‘em off. Not a nick or a snag, not a one!”

            “ ** _Oh_** , **_great_** and **_mighty_** slayer of the vicious **_Mome Rath_** beasts!” Ilosovic mocked him, “How our deeds of heroism **_pale_** in comparison to you, oh **_marvelous_** -”

            “Alright! Alright Stayne! Lay off it…” Eli punched him lightly on the arm; “At least **_I_** can fend something off that’s smaller than me with a sword!” he nodded in my direction.

            “They were both **_surprise_** attacks!"

            “And I suppose your other excuse is that Mome Raths don’t carry swords, huh?”

“ ** _You_** stay out of this!”

Elias and Saleen gave Ilosovic teasing glances before turning to the third army marching over the drawbridge. Their ruby red and shimmering gold crystal soldiers stood out against the alabaster backdrop of the castle walls and the aura of authority surrounded the whole group of them. Their queen sat tall in her carriage, her young face was bright with a serene smile, while most of her subjects looked haughty and stuck-up, “Good evening everyone…sorry we’re late! There was a borogrove migration that blocked the road between Queast and Tulgey Wood, so we had to wait for them to pass. ” she greeted the other monarchs as she descended from her coach.

            “Not at all Rubi! We wouldn’t have started without you!” Mirana embraced the other queen like it’d been ages since they’d seen each other.

            Stayne and Elias groaned with displeasure when Amber pointed out the fact that it was the Diamonds approaching the entrance.

            “Why so eager to see them?” I asked, perplexed by their disdain.

            “Two words…”

            “ ** _Arondight_**. **_Thorne_** …”

            I was still slightly confused, “Who’s he? Is he the king or something?”

            Amber rolled her eyes and popped her chewing gum, “He _thinks_ he is. He’s the Knight of Diamonds…and an arrogant, snobby, bratty, immature-”

            “Good-for-nothing, bothersome git.” Ilosovic spat.

            I glanced toward the incoming army and met the stony gaze of an armored soldier riding on the back of a Clydesdale that was covered in gold and red silk from its head to its tail. He had a scar running across his right eye that was strikingly similar to Ilosovic’s, though it was on the opposite side, and his right eye was slightly lighter-colored than his left.

            “Is that him on the big horse?”

            Stayne turned toward the direction I was indicating, and his expression changed almost immediately, “Yeah.” he growled, returning Thorne’s glare, “That’s him.”

            Maccay piped up from behind us, “I take it he’s one of your _best_ _friends_ , huh?”

            “Not likely. Oh, get this! They're looking for a _Knave_ of Diamonds. I’ve heard that they were finally gonna give ol’ Thorne the boot here soon, but they haven't found anybody to take over after him…” Eli sounded almost excited that Arondight was soon to be the ex-Knight.

            “Yeah…he’s not too thrilled about it…” Amber popped another bubble, "Not that it bothers me that he's irked. I don't particularly like him."

            “Join the club…” everyone chorused.

            “Well I’m glad you’re all **_happy_** to see me. I assure you the feeling’s **_mutual_**.” a growling voice snapped from beside Saleen. The whole group shifted the opposite direction, some of them gasping with surprise. Sure enough, Arondight Thorne was right there…and he was twice as scary up close. He just looked downright hateful.

            “ _Thorne_.” Ilosovic snarled in greeting. The Knight of Hearts had a nasty gleam in his eye that I’d never seen in them before…and something told me that he hated this man more than he’d hated the Red Queen.

            A devilish sneer slithered its way onto Thorne’s face, “Well, _well_ , **_well_** … ** _Ilosovic_** **_Stayne_**. What a **_surprise_**! I didn’t know Mirana uses **_rats_** in her army…” he hissed.

            Everyone gawked at him in disbelief, “ ** _Excuse_** me? I don’t believe I heard you right…” I stepped in between them and stared him down, “You wanna run it by me again?” I challenged.

            He lowered his gaze from Stayne’s to mine, “No, I’m afraid you heard me correctly young lady. You must be the other… _ahem_... Overlander that was here on the Frabjous Day… Allyson, I believe?”

            “Yeah.” Lucy snipped.

            “That’s her.” C’Lee snapped.

            “Yes…you helped Alice slay the Jabberwocky, if memory serves…”

            “As a matter of fact, I **_did_**. I also got **_him_** out of the former Red Queen’s castle in one piece.” I added.

            He smirked, “How _touching_. A rather daring rescue, was it not?”

            “More daring than anything I’ve ever heard of **_you_** doing!” Amber rolled her eyes at him and muttered, “Remind me how **_you_** became the Knight of anywhere?”

            “Don’t let him go on about **_that_**! We’d be here ‘til tomorrow!” Eli interrupted before the Knight of Diamonds could begin.

            Of course, we didn’t have that kind of time, since most of us were riding out to get Alice from the Looking-Glass Portal in the morning and needed our sleep. Falling into a tense silence, our group turned and trotted off to the castle doors, leaving Saleen and Arondight behind. She had been the only one who’d greeted him kindly… she hadn’t greeted him at all.

 

**_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~_ **

**_Allyson_ **

 

            The palace was now filled to the brim with people milling about, socializing, and catching up with old friends that they hadn’t seen since before the war broke out. Families were reunited with one another, lovers embraced like it had been centuries since they’d been together, and cries of “Mummy” and “Daddy” rang out from children who had been separated from their parents. The atmosphere was swimming with a feeling of relief and joy that all of these people had survived a skirmish that had ripped the land apart.

            There was also a twinge of sadness for those who had been lost, like Tarrant’s family and presumably, Stayne’s parents as well. His scarred face fell every time he saw a couple kiss passionately, or a mother and father crying tears of joy with their child sandwiched between them.

            “Hey, you ok?” I tugged lightly on his arm. He only nodded; smiling sadly as he searched the crowd for people he knew weren’t there. I too watched in vain, hoping for his sake that we were wrong, that any moment Luna Hightopp or his mom and dad would come running out of nowhere and surprise him. How I wished that I’d gotten the chance to meet his mother and father; they were both legendary warriors, his father was the White Knight that Alice inherited the Vorpal Sword from, and his mother was the first woman to be officially knighted in Marmoreal’s history.

            We could both use some sparring tips from fighters as skilled as them…and he could really use his family.

            “Don’t worry about me…I’ll…I’ll be fine.” he sighed.

            I knew very well that he was on the verge of tears, but I nodded in agreement, “Alright, but I’m staying with you for now, ‘cause I don’t know half these people anyway with my band scattered through the crowd. And I don’t wanna run the risk of running across-”

            “ _Me_ while you’re alone?” Thorne finished my sentence for me with a vicious sneer.

            “Yeah, **_you_**.” I pursed my lips and flipped my eye patch up so I could glare at him to the fullest extent, "I didn’t wanna see you ‘cause I'm not in the mood to fight with anyone right now…so if you want something besides that, let's hear it."

            "Ah yes; I simply wanted to congratulate you on your victory against the Jabberwocky. Not many **_Overlanders_** are used to such battles, and you and Miss Alice handled that very well. Not to mention you were such young girls then…" his tone was as condescending as the look on his face.

            "Oh, it was nothing really. Most of us **_Overlanders_** are pretty level-headed in stressful situations like that. Especially us women; we're **_always_** cool under pressure." I shot back confidently.

            "Mmhmm…I see…well I shan't bother you anymore tonight. Fairfarren, for now, little dragon slayer… and Stayne." Thorne bowed before strutting off into the crowd.

            "Hmph." Stayne mumbled.

            "My thoughts exactly."

            "And y'know what the _best_ part is? He's _always_ that pleasant."

            "You're joking, right? Please tell me you're joking."

            "Nope."

            "Fan ** _freaking_** tastic…"

            “Tell me about it…he’s been that way as long as I can remember. I don’t know who spit in his tarts, but I sure would like to find them and give them a piece of my mind!” Stayne’s arms were crossed over his chest.

            I snickered, “For what? Spitting on the tarts?” He cracked a small, half-hearted smile.

            He thumped the brim of my hat, knocking it over my eyes, “I thought you were a musician, not a comedian. Are you sure you’re in the right career?”

            “Don’t worry; I’m not quitting my day job anytime soon.” I reassured him, pulling my hat back into its proper place.

            “Good girl.” He tried to hit it again, but I ducked out of his reach, “It’s a good thing your party was a masquerade…the ball tomorrow is one too.”

            “Really?” Luke suddenly appeared beside me in a swirl of his feathery cape, flipping his bird mask up, “I guess that’s just good planning on your part, hon.” He looked up at Stayne curiously, “So what’s the plan for tomorrow exactly? Who’s going to get Alice in the morning?”

            As we slowly wove through the crowd, the outline of the next day was laid out for us, “Well everyone that wants to can come to the Portal in the Garden of Live Flowers , but only three of us are going through to bring her back…those three being Allyson, the Hatter, and me. We’re the ones she’s most likely to remember without stepping back into Underland, or at least we hope so.”

            “What if she doesn’t remember any of you? Will you still bring her back?”

            “She’ll get all her memories back when she returns, if all else fails.”

            “Is…this safe?” Luke’s hand tightened around mine and he pulled me closer to him.

            Stayne smiled, "Completely. But trust me, if something **_did_** come up, we can handle ourselves **_quite_** well. I've seen this one do it firsthand…and I've felt her wrath too."

            I scoffed, " ** _Puh-lease_** , that was nothing! I was being **_nice_** when I beat you up because I was **_trying_** to help you out."

            Luke raised his eyebrow, "You haven't been picking fights with people down here, have you honey?"

            "Nope. **_They_** all started it. And by _'they'_ I mean him and the Red Queen."

            Both of them rolled their eyes, but only Stayne chuckled, "Yeah, I sure did if disagreeing with her is classified as ' _starting it_ '."

            "It usually is." Luke remarked, "There are very few occasions where it isn't."

            "Oh, I'm sure." We had climbed the grand staircase and stopped to watch the churning mass of people, when the Knight stopped abruptly and stared out into the crowd, " _Wait…that couldn't be…_ "

            Luke and I followed him, trying to figure out what or who he was watching so intently. It was hard to pick out the people that we knew, much less follow his gaze among the sea of strangers.

            "Stayne, who are you looking at? Do you see somebody?"

            His eyes were both as wide as teacup saucers, his mouth hanging slightly open. He gripped the banister and almost stumbled the rest of the way to the floor. People stepped aside as he moved forward, and then I noticed that they were moving over for someone else…

            A tall, slender woman with long silvery hair, dressed in red, white, and gold was slowly making her way towards us. Her eyes were a crystal blue, and even from where I was I could see them brimming with tears. As the first of them spilled over her lashes, it finally dawned on me who she was.

            " _Mom_?"

            She nodded, coming still closer, "Yes Ilosovic, it's me…"

            Now he was tearing up too, "Is…is Dad here too? Or…?"

            "He's here. And Tarrant's mother and father are as well." His mother reached out and embraced him like she would never let him go. The two of them almost sank to the ground, both nearly collapsing from pure joy, "I'm so glad you're alright…we thought we'd lost you when we heard Iracebeth got banished. We thought surely you'd been sent with her-"

            "He almost was." A man, who could only be described as Ilosovic in about thirty years or so, approached from behind her, "Mirana told me how he got out of Salazen Grum before the battle."

            Still stunned into silence, I watched as the three of them turned to the stairwell to stare up at me, knowing I had a ridiculously blank look on my face. Apparently the others gathering around them had overheard and where muttering about the Frabjous Day battle, or at least the things they'd been told by the messengers sent out afterwards. I'm sure some things had probably been stretched way out of proportion, but you'll have that when there's a legendary and world-changing battle fought by two people that are way out of their element ( _and way out of their league_ ). Especially if the details get spread like a game of Telephone…it gets **_really_** crazy, _really_ quick.

            Sensing a blush was creeping over my cheeks, I lowered the brim of my hat to hide the redness and I took a few steps down. Luke and Ilosovic seemed to find this amusing, and could scarcely hide their giggling behind their hands. My futile attempts at an annoyed glower were even funnier to them. This wasn't exactly the kind of attention I was used to…

            "That's her."

            The Knight's parents looked to him, and then back at me, "You're the girl?" his father inquired, "That fought the creature and brought our son back to Marmoreal?"

            I managed to find my voice to answer, "Yes sir. I did." Luke came down to stand behind me, putting his hand on my shoulder. My sense of humor came back to me when I regained the ability to speak, "Has he **_always_** been as stubborn and obstinate as he was when I tried to talk him into leaving?"

            He gave his son an incredulous glance, "You didn't **_want_** to go with her?"

            "Honestly…if you knew how she was going about her plan to _'liberate'_ me and a few of the others in the castle, you'd've thought she was madder than the **_whole_** **_lot_** of the Hightopp clan! You wouldn't have gone with her at first either!"

            "I can vouch for that sir!" Tarrant appeared out of the crowd, towing Mayo and two other people behind him, who I assumed were _his_ mom and dad, "She's **_bonkers_** , **_completely_** off her head! **_But_** , there's a thing about that, you see…" he lowered his voice to barely a whisper, but I knew the phrase that came out of his mouth verbatim. It was Alice's way of explaining the bright side to being off the deep end, and every word of it was true, at least in my experience.

            " _All the best people are…_ "

            Stayne senior smiled in agreement.

            The younger Knight motioned for me to join them on the ballroom floor, and I timidly shuffled towards them, "My plan was a bit off-kilter at times, I will admit that sir. In all honesty, most of it was made up as I went along."

            His smile was crooked, only turning up on one side of his mouth, "No need to call me sir, unless you're in the army, miss. You can call me Alexander, and this is my wife Jasmin." He and I shook hands and Jasmin almost smothered me in a grandmotherly hug and thanks for saving her only child from the desert-like torment of the Outlands. Then we all three noticed that Ilosovic was trying to conceal a smirk, "What is it son?"

            "Mirana didn't tell you? She knighted me after the Frabjous Day, and made **_me_** Captain of the army." Stayne junior stated smugly.

            Alexander shot me a questioning glance, as though he wondered if this was true, and when I nodded and told him that she even used my sword to do it, he clapped him on the back and congratulated him, "I always knew you'd get my spot someday, and I'm proud of you for it. But know this; that makes me **_Major_** Stayne, and I'll be sending word to the men that they have my express permission to heckle you constantly if you set one hair out of line. And that permission extends to your friend Allyson here too."

            "She got that message, Dad. She got it four years ago the moment we laid eyes on each other. And she hasn't stopped since." He rolled his eyes while everyone else chuckled.

            "I don't deny it, and don't intend to stop either."

            The Hatter's father elbowed Alexander, "At least you know that your son will be on his toes at all times, right old boy? " and then he stuck his hand out to me, "Zamuel Hightopp's the name missy, but you can call me Zam." His handshake was a little more… _animated_ than Alexander's had been. As I took a better look at him, I could see traces of Tarrant in his face; though they were paler than his son's, Zam had the same bright green eyes and wild orange hair, complete with a gap-toothed grin. His wife, Rosalynn, had hair that was a pale salmon pink and her eyes were teal, so it was very obvious that both of my friends got their looks from their dads.

            Tarrant's mother spoke up, "We've heard so many stories about you and Alice; I'm glad that we'll have the privilege to meet you both." And she hugged me lightly. She put me in the mind of the kind of grandmother who makes patchwork quilts and bakes cookies every time you see her, as opposed to Jasmin being the stern but gentle matriarch who lived in a small castle with antique furniture and at least three large, purebred cats.

            "The pleasure's all mine…I'm just glad you're all **_here_** and not where we thought you were…" I thought of the sight I'd seen on my previous misadventure with Alice; Witzend in ruin, nothing but charred remnants of the small village that the Hightopps had lived in for years. There was no measure for the relief that I felt when it hit me that the Hatter would no longer have so much of a burden to weigh on him; his parents and some other family members had survived the Horunvendush Day Massacre, and Alice was coming back.

            "It seems to me that everyone is just glad to be here in general." C'Lee noted, having appeared from the midst of the crowd followed by Lucy and the Tweedles, "We **_did_** just narrowly escape those smoke creatures that crashed our party."

            The rest of the band, who had managed to regroup around the base of the stairs, nodded. The Underlanders looked a little shell-shocked, "Smoke creatures? What is she talking about?" Alexander seemed concerned about the demonesque things that had preceded Mirana's arrival.

            Just before I could begin to explain, or at least _try_ to anyway, the White Queen interrupted, "Nothing to worry about now, they've been sent back where they came from, and should not return." She herded all of us together and tried to send us upstairs, "At any rate, you all need to get to bed. Those of you that are going to the Portal tomorrow need to be up bright and early in the morning to get there in time."

            McTwisp, who was leading another small party towards the corridors where all the bedrooms were, paused beside me, "Especially **_you_** , since you're going through it with Ilosovic and Tarrant. You have a few more preparations to be made, so I'll be coming by to get you up."

            Unable to help myself, I smirked and shot back, "Don't be _late_." He only shook his head and bounded ahead of us.

            As we ascended the flight of steps, Maccay posed a question that hadn't even really crossed my mind, "Um…your highness? Are there enough rooms for **_all_** of these people?"

            Mayo piped up as well, "Is your castle really big enough to house four kingdoms of people? No offense, but it doesn't look like it…" she added sheepishly.

            "There are several other hallways around the palace with spare rooms, however, should those not be sufficient, there is a charm on each of the halls that will allow them to expand indefinitely until the lodging requirements are met. All of the rooms will modify themselves to fit the inhabitant's needs as well." She replied, as if this was a common practice to have extension spells on one's house that change to suit your fancy. It sure would be nice to have one of those over my place!

            Tony was mumbling something about learning the enchantment so that he could put as much space as he wanted between himself and Amber when we reached our enormous room. There were ten beds around the room in a semi-circle, and each one had a Warrior’s name inscribed in the headboard. They were all even different colors! A matching nightstand sat to the left of every bed, with neatly folded nightclothes lying on top and drawers big enough to stash our costumes in without wrinkling them. A balcony awaited us through a pair of glass doors, the view encompassing the shimmering lake, the winding road beyond the gates, and the tops of the trees in the courtyard. Armchairs and loveseats were shoved into various nooks and crannies with books piled waist-high beside them. A writing desk sat in one corner, covered in various pens and pencils and a whole forest’s worth of paper. But the cherry on top of the cake was our instruments placed on top of the bedspreads ( _except for mine, which was a Baby Grand Piano on the far wall with a microphone sitting atop it_ ), apparently modified to run on something other than electricity because their cords were all gone.

We were going to perform at the ball tomorrow.

Any of us wearing hats removed them immediately, and those only wearing masks slid them up onto their heads, and we all gaped at our new sleeping arrangement, “Whoa…” we all sighed in unison. There was no other way to sum it up properly. Whoa.

Mirana smiled contentedly as she moved to close the door and leave us to our own devices, “Enjoy.”

Against her advice, we enjoyed ourselves immensely until the wee hours of the morning, when we managed to find our respective beds and collapse like puppets without strings. Mayo even fell asleep with one shoe still on, and Matt still had his cat eye contacts in.

 

**_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~_ **

**_Allyson_ **

 

By the break of dawn, Mayo had kicked her shoe off and all the way over to Amber’s bed, Amber was in a chair rather than her bed, C’Lee was curled up at the wrong end of hers, Sam was almost in the floor, and Maccay had somehow come into possession of one of my pillows. Matt hadn’t moved an inch from last night, Tony had been swallowed whole by his sheets, Lucy had her head stuck under her pillow, and Luke was squeezing his to death like he was afraid it was going to fall off the bed. I could faintly hear somebody snoring, but I couldn’t tell if it was from any of us, or somebody next door.

Just as I was about to shut my eyes and drift back to sleep, the door creaked open slowly and the White Rabbit poked his head inside.

Resisting the urge to hiss like a vampire at the sunlight filtering through the curtains, I sat up and yawned, “Easter isn’t for six more months cottontail, so why don’t you go paint some more eggs or something?”

Unfazed by my grumpy daybreak demeanor, McTwisp straightened his waistcoat and spoke barely above a whisper, “Good morning to you too. And I can assure you that I have no association with the holiday that you are referring to…whatever it is.”

“Fine. C’mon, let’s go then.” Sliding from beneath the warmth of the comforters, I grudgingly put on a pair of slippers and grabbed a housecoat, “Her majesty better be able to work some real magic on this hair of mine, because I’m not even going to bother trying.” The back of my head felt like Mally’s family had tried to have a reunion on my scalp. Lovely.

“No need to worry about that, you’ll look good as new when you’re done with.” Stayne, Ilosovic that is, was lounging against the wall just outside the door, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Not a hair out of place, or a sleepy undertone to his voice. I hate chipper morning people.

“It’s too early for you to be this wide awake. Is there a potion or elixir that you can take to be this perky before the Sun comes up?”

He ruffled my already knotty hair, “I’ve always been up before everyone else. Just a habit I guess.”

            “Well I beg your pardon for not letting your habits rub off on me.” I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and stretched. He offered to throw me in the pond outside to wake me up, and I threatened to take him down with me if he did. He also suggested giving me impromptu fencing lessons to make me a little more alert, but said nothing more when I reminded him which of us had won the last swordfight we’d gotten into.

            The Hatter was already dressed and ready to roll by the time we got to his room, and in my opinion, he was also too energetic for this time of day. If Mirana is her usual bubbly self while she’s debriefing us, I swear I’ll scream. And the Butterfly better not even show up; cheerful or otherwise.

Absolem doesn’t even need to show his ugly blue mug to make me mad now; just the thought of him is enough to make my blood boil…but for some reason, I can’t really remember why I’m angry at him. No matter how hard I try, nothing comes to mind when I try to recall what he’s done this time. There was a feeling in my gut that it had something to do with someone else too, but I couldn’t place just who it was. Maybe I was imagining things…

            “You coming, Allyson?”

            Evidently, I had stopped in the middle of the hall to contemplate my feelings of resentment, and had fallen behind the guys without realizing it. They paused just long enough for me to catch up, and we continued on to the throne room to meet with the Queen.

 

**_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~_ **

**** **_Allyson_ **

 

            It took nearly an hour to get me into the corset, the hoop cage, and three petticoats, not to mention putting the actual dress on over it, and my sad attempts to tie the laces on my boots with all of my clothes already on. Having my hair braided into an intricate style by someone other than Sam took forty-five minutes in itself, and Tony could’ve done the makeup that took this girl half an hour in three minutes flat. Stayne and the Hatter had been dressed for a full two and a half hours before I was even close to being clothed properly. Then, because it was early winter in Overland, I had to put on a small fur cape and a muff to keep my hands warm. Unfortunately, the weather never changes here in Underland, so it was in the mid to high 70s when I stepped outside. I was sweating before I even got to the meeting area.

            I had to tiptoe all the way to the stables in the ridiculous boots I had on so that I wouldn’t trip over the hem of my dress, or take a tumble headlong down a flight of stairs. The rest of the castle had been awakened to follow us out, but only a few people were milling about in the plaza. The rest of my crew was back in their costumes from yesterday, relaxing beneath the archway that led to the topiary garden. A cerulean mist drifted across the ground, and for a half a second I thought another demon had broken into the castle, but then I remembered a certain insect with a chronic smoking problem that frequented the shrubbery.

            He emerged from the bushes, landing on the brim of my tiny feathered hat, “Good morning.” Absolem leaned over the edge upside down.

            “It’s still morning? It seems like it’s already afternoon.”

            “Not quite yet.” He chuckled, “I don’t suppose you’d mind if I rode along with you to the Portal, would you?”

            I shrugged, “I guess not…I’m still mad at you for whatever reason it was yesterday, I just can’t remember what it is…so it would be wise of you not to bring it up.”

            His tiny eyebrows knitted together in confusion, “Well, alright then. If I remember why you’re angry with me, I’ll be sure to keep it to myself.”

            “Wait…you don’t remember either?”

            He shook his head.

            “Oh…well…forget about it then.” Waving off the bad feeling, I hobbled over to my friends on my knobby high heels, “Hey guys. How do I look?”

            Luke was absolutely stunned, “Wow…honey, you look amazing…” he pulled me into a hug that was almost as tight as the corset around my ribs. When he let me go, Amber commanded that I twirl around, so as to fully show off the almost floor-length red and black dress. This task was made exceedingly difficult by my current choice in footwear, but I accomplished it nonetheless. They all loved it; Maccay remarked that I looked rather fetching in my trademark shade of garnet, and everyone seemed to share the sentiment. Lucy and C’Lee both found the bouncy quality of my hair very amusing, as there were a few strands that were turned into corkscrew curls instead of braids. And everyone recognized the clock locket that dangled from my neck…the one that Stayne had given me.

We were about to discuss the pros and cons of the shoes from Alice’s time period when a team of pure white horses clip-clopped by, tugging a carriage that could’ve easily held twenty people. Mirana rode beside the driver up front, and patted the seats below her, “I thought it’d be much less trouble for you all to ride together, rather than each of you on individual horses. Hop in.”

            We all piled in one after the other, me being last because of the great debacle of getting my bloomin’ dress through the door without flashing anyone. It took several tries to do so without ripping it or falling backwards, but I eventually got seated between Luke and the wall of the buggy.

            As I glanced around, many more carriages arrived, and Jasmin, Zamuel, Rosalynn, and another young woman climbed into a smaller one beside us. The younger lady had a little boy that looked a little older than five. He was practically bouncing off the seats!

            “Hey Mayo, who’s that?” I assumed that she would know if they were some of Tarrant’s relatives, or if they were just hitching a ride with his parents.

            Tarrant himself answered before she could, “That’s my cousin’s wife, Zada, and their son Remy. They escaped the fire too!” his grin was wider than all of Underland, “Christian should be along here soo- oh, there he is getting into the carriage now.” Sure enough, there was a man around the Hatter’s age, with a scruffy beard the color of moss, climbing aboard the coach. The boy, Remy, instantaneously calmed down and climbed into his father’s lap, pulling off his cap and placing it on his own head. Tarrant waved from his perch on the Bandersnatch to his family, and they all waved back.

            Seeing Christian and his wife and son made me wonder…who _else_ had survived the devastating inferno? Had _Luna_ made it out alive? Was she here, somewhere? Then, the other, not so positive questions came to mind; was she married to someone else? Did she have kids? Does she think that Ilosovic was with the Red Queen in the Outlands?

            I was brought out of my reverie by him riding up beside us, his form slightly unfamiliar in a waistcoat, jacket, and black slacks instead of his usual chainmail and thick grey cape. He even had an ornamental walking cane where his sword would've been, and his boots had been replaced with what I could only describe as church shoes.

            He must've seen me staring absentmindedly at him, "What?"

            "You look… _different_ …" his clothes contrasted so much with his light grey horse, but matched his dark hair almost perfectly.

            "Is **_that_** what they call it? This monkey suit is hot and itchy."

I rolled my eyes, " _Pffffft_! Oh **_waaah_** , cry me a river, pretty boy. At least you can walk properly in your outfit!"

            "Barely!" he whined. I pretended to wipe away a few crocodile tears just to mess with him, and in return he mimicked the gesture. This bantering back and forth kept going until we reached the actual Portal, which took over an hour at the least. No one other than the two of us found it quite so amusing, but no one bothered to make us quit either.

 

**_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~_ **

**** **_Allyson_ **

 

By high noon we had reached the Garden in one piece and dismounted the carriages. Getting my dress out of the buggy was considerably easier than it was getting it in, but I nearly broke my ankle trying to jump from the steps.

            "Jeez, baby, be careful!" Luke took my hand and helped me down, "Now don't you do anything crazy while you're up there…"

            "What am I gonna do? I can't run too rampant because I have to keep up with **_them_**." I jerked my head towards Tarrant and Ilosovic, who were exchanging goodbyes with their families, "Gotta keep **_those_** two out of trouble…who knows what they could get into **_without_** my supervision."

            He eyed me skeptically, “I’m sure they could turn that statement around on you too.”

            “Very true…” I replied, “Don’t worry; I’ll try not to get into anything…if I can help it.”

            Before he could scold me again, Stayne and Tarrant called me to the entrance of the Portal; the rim of the fountain in the middle of the Garden. With one last kiss goodbye, I gathered up my skirts and trotted over to the edge of the knee-deep pool of water. From what I understood, we were supposed to jump in feet first, and we would then find ourselves standing in Victorian Age China.

            “Well, this is it…” the Knight of Hearts gulped, shuffling his feet nervously. His antsy behavior wasn’t helping me settle down. What was he so worked up about?

            “Yes, yes…it is. _Alice is coming home…_ ” the Mad Hatter was almost jumping for joy, on the other hand. He was ready to get his girl back, and tell her that he’d get to bring her home to his parents after all.

            “You guys ready to go?” I was having mixed emotions, but I was mostly excited.

            They nodded in unison. I took each one’s arm, so that we were all linked together, and stepped up beside them, “Can we go Mirana?” calling over my shoulder, I hesitated to leap into the shallow fountain.

            The White Queen smiled and shooed us off, “Go on now; run along.”

            Turning back, I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and counted down from five…

            Four…

            Three…

            Two…

            One…

            Lift-off.


	4. Chapter 3 - Shipped to Shanghai

**_Allyson_ **

 

     My eyes slowly opened to a strange place. Sounds drifted into my ears that were foreign to me, and smells wafted through the air that I’d never smelled before. It felt colder than it had in Marmoreal, cold enough to snow possibly.

            We had made it to China.

            The three of us dropped hands and stared around us in wonder…there were enormous sailing ships all around us in the port, like the ones I’d only seen in pirate movies. Sadly, even the best cameras in Hollywood had failed to capture the true size of the boats; I had to crane my neck just to glimpse the tip top of the masts. The hulls were positively gigantic, bobbing through the steely grey waves like monstrous apples in a bucket.

            “Oh…oh mah word…” when I spoke, it wasn’t my voice that came out. It **_sounded_** like me, but then again it didn’t.

            Stayne looked down at me, and I noticed that he wasn’t nearly as tall as he was in Underland. He could’ve been around six foot or so, but he most definitely wasn’t his normal seven and a half, “What did you just say Allyson?”

            “Ah **_said_** …” my eyes widened in horror, “Oh no…this **_cain’t_** be!” I clapped my hand over my mouth. Tarrant was too distracted by the scenery to notice my predicament, but Ilosovic thought it highly entertaining that I sounded like Scarlett O’Hara from “ _Gone with the Wind_ ”.

            “What’s wrong? Accent got your tongue?” he nudged me with his cane, which earned him a beating with my hand-warmer.

            “Oooh! You hush up Stayne! Not anotha **_word_** outta you!” I wanted to scream so bad it wasn’t even funny. If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s Southern accents –or any accents, for that matter- that are this overly exaggerated, because we do **_not_** all sound like that! Some of us, yeah, we do, but I know for a fact that I personally do **_not_** talk this way! Well, not _usually_ …

            He was outright laughing now, having to hold his stomach so he wouldn’t double over, “Yes _mayum_ …” he mock-saluted and copied me all in one breath, “Hatter, are you hearing this?”

            “It **_ain’t_** funny!”

            “You’re absolutely right; this is **_hilarious_**.”

            “Hush yowah mouth!”

            Still not minding us one bit, the Hatter suddenly stopped dead in his tracks, as if he’d noticed something that wasn’t there earlier. His neon green eyes locked onto it and it never escaped his gaze, even when he spoke to us, “There she is…over there…there’s Alice!”

            Sure enough, when I turned from threatening Stayne with a nearby shop display of parasols, I saw a head of curly blonde hair bouncing towards a ship with _the Wonder_ painted on her boards. Alice had aged a few years since her last visit, much like I had; she looked about twenty-three or twenty-four now. She was talking with an older Chinese gentleman who had several rolls of parchment tucked under his arms, and whose hat was slightly askew on his head. They could’ve been discussing important business or just chatting about the weather ( _which was dreary, to say the least_ ), but either way, Alice seemed very enthusiastic about it. She was very adamant about whatever point she was trying to get across, and her companion didn’t seem to disagree. The two of them disappeared into a small store, and we were left standing in the middle of the sidewalk, staring after her like a trio of lost puppies.

            “Well,” Stayne broke the silence, “we’ve found her. So how are we supposed to get her attention? ”

            “You mean…we didn’t come up heyah with a plan?”

            Both of them looked at me like **_I_** was the crazy one!

            “No, but since **_you’re_** the master of improvisation, Miss Allyson, why don’t **_you_** come up with something?” Stayne remarked.

            “ _Ah_ neva **_claimed_** to be any such thing. _You_ only **_assumed_** that ah am.”

            Tarrant turned serious abruptly, his eyes shifting from lime green to a reddish brown and his voice from a slight British to a heavy Scottish accent, “Waell lassie, yuh’d better think up somethin’ quick, ‘cause here sh’comes again…”

            Alice had emerged from the shop, and now she was carrying some parchments and what looked like a handful of ink pens. She also had a bag that clinked and rattled that was clearly filled with tiny clay jars, and one filled with notebooks. For all her ambition and determination, she could sure use some extra hands…

            “Don’t fret, dear Hatter, ah’ve got an idea…” I did my best Vivienne Leigh eyebrow arch before indicating for them to huddle around me. I was beginning to like this whole Southern belle thing I had going on.

            That’s not a good sign.

 

**_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~_ **

**_Alice_ **

 

            The cobblestone streets of Shanghai were even harder to navigate when you were balancing very fragile objects in your hands and dangling from your arms. As graceful as I may be ( _which isn’t very, I’m afraid_ ), there was always the sense that I was about to just drop every bit of it. Of course, that wouldn’t have surprised me in the least…I’ve been even more distracted here of late, even more so than usual. It seems to get worse with each passing year, like it’s a progressive disease of some sort. I don’t really mind it that much, but it does make traversing uneven terrain exceedingly difficult.

            But what makes things like this much easier is the remarkable kindness of complete strangers…

            “E-excuse me? Miss? ” a young man approached me from up the street, offering his hand to take some items off of mine, “Do you need s-some assistance? ” he stuttered, his bashful smile showing a small gap in his top front teeth.

His brilliant scarlet hair fell around his unnaturally green eyes in wild curls. A dark green felt hat perched atop his head, with some kind of card on one side, but I couldn’t make out what it said. Just beneath his jacket, I caught a peep of several spools of thread hanging about his waist, but for some reason his ensemble didn’t strike me as **_odd_** …it felt **_familiar_** somehow…

"Oh…yes, thank you very much." He took the sack full of blank notebooks and some of the rolls of parchment in his arms and fell into step beside me, "What's your name, sir?"

            He chuckled shyly, "No need to say sir, we're about the same age I expect…my name is Terrance Highton. I-I'm a hat maker…you see… Actually, I made the one I'm wearing."

            "It's very lovely. I'm Alice Kingsleigh, by the way…I suppose you could call me the first mate of that ship over there; _the Wonder_." I was supposed to be heading back to the boat, but my new friend had captured my interest, "This is my second trip here to China from London…what about you?"

            "Oh, me? This is my first time…m-my family is from Cheshire."

            Something in that name sparked a memory, buried deep within my mind, but I couldn't quite place it, "Your town is famous for the grinning cats, isn't it?"

            Terrance laughed heartily at this, like there was some hidden meaning to my question. He agreed nonetheless, "Indeed, it is. Very famous for felines that can smile…I've actually _seen_ one before, believe it or not!"

 

            _"What kind of creatures?" Father asked_

_"Well; there's a Dodo Bird, a Rabbit in a waistcoat…a smiling cat…"I answered._

_"I didn't know cats **could** smile."_

_"Neither did I. And…there's a blue caterpillar…"_

            _"A **blue** caterpillar…hmm…"_

           

            The flashback hit me so suddenly that I almost dropped my things on the ground. Terrance caught me by the arm, trying to shake me out of the mysterious daydream. What had my father and I been talking about? Had I been running a fever, or was I simply delirious?

            Was it a dream?

            Unable to shake the strange feeling of déjà vu, I attempted to hide it with humor, "It seems to me that I recall seeing such a creature myself, when I was much younger… Does this cat have a habit of disappearing?"

            He nodded again, "All the time. Gets rather bothersome during conversations." Terrance rolled his eyes as if this statement actually applied to a cat that he knew, and if it were completely normal to carry on conversations with house pets.

 

_But who am I to judge? I've spoken to Caterpillars and flowers, and chased White Rabbits in waistcoats, had tea with Mad Hatters, March Hares and Dormice, and have spoken to a smiling cat myself! Not to mention I rode a rather large beast whose name begins with Banner…or was it Bander? **And** I've slain a terrible dragonesque monster with a cry of "Off with your head!"_

           

In my dreams, at least…or, at least that what I **_think_** happened. Surely I didn't **_really_** do all that…did I?

            Just as I was about to question my companion on any other unusual animals that he'd come across lately, someone else called out for his attention, "Terrance! **_Theyah_** you ah! We've been looking **_everywheyah_** for you!" a young girl -maybe eighteen or so- with dark hair and eyes in a bright crimson dress strode up to him. A man with long black hair and a faint scar over his left eye followed closely behind her, "Wheyah **_have_** you been?"

            Terrance whirled around, "Oh! Sorry Alyss, I was just helping Miss Kingsleigh here…"

            "Your name is Alice too?" we stopped walking and I peeked around him to get a better look at her.

            She smiled and nodded, "Yes, but _mah_ name is spelled differently than the **_traditional_** way…mine is _A-l-y-s-s_." Alyss corrected me, reaching for the fountain pens and some of the parchment, "Heyah, let me take some of that off yowah hands…" She was clearly an American, and most definitely from the South. Their accents sounded very much like the way people back in England spoke, only slower and with their vowels more drawn out.

            Their other friend was rather silent, but did introduce himself as Ivan Stanford, a fencing instructor ( _and Alyss' cousin_ ) from New York. He lifted the bag of ink bottles from my hand, leaving me with a much lighter bundle of paper. He added that he was not, in fact, from New York City, but that he'd always wanted to go there at least once…and that's where their dilemma was.

            "We had been staying in Cheshire with Terrance for a while, and we'd all decided that we wanted to visit the city together. We were supposed to take a ship to port there, but we got on the wrong boat and ended up on the other side of the globe." Ivan admitted sheepishly.

            "That's dreadful! Do you have any way to get back?" I was appalled by their misfortune. They seemed like such wonderful characters; so friendly and kind…no one should be left this far from home with no way to get back where they belong.

            Alyss shook her head gravely, "Ah'm afraid not. We haven't got the money to buy tickets that go that far." She looked terribly distressed, and homesick to boot, "And no one knows we'ah heyah…ah live with Ivan and Terrance doesn't have many relatives that we could contact."

            This is simply **_horrible_**! Could anything **_else_** befall these poor people? I wish there was **_some_** way I could help them get back home…

Oh wait, I have a ship. Of course!

            "I'll tell you what…our company is returning to England tomorrow evening. I could ask the captain if we can spare the room for the three of you." I offered, and to my joy, all three of their faces lit up immediately. They all thanked me repeatedly, and asked if they could treat me to a modest dinner at one of the local restaurants. It wouldn't be much, Terrance confessed, but he believed that it was the least they could do. Assuring him that I wouldn't mind it one bit, we all traipsed to the ship together to deposit my things and freshen up before heading out.

 

**_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~_ **

**_Ilosovic_ **

 

            "Ah **_told_** you it would work." Allyson primped herself in the bathroom mirror while I sat in a chair in the small bedroom she and Alice were sharing. The captain of _the Wonder_ had agreed to let us go back to England with them, and had given us rooms below deck. Tarrant, who had gone with Alice to speak with the captain, was roomed with me just down the hall from the girls. Not that it really mattered, since we wouldn't be staying long enough to need beds.

            "Yeah, you _showah_ did. I _nevah_ should have doubted you." It was nearly impossible to resist poking fun at her voice change, especially since it got her dander up so badly. Her eyes narrowed in her reflection, but she didn't turn around to say anything back.

            The Hatter soon returned and stuck his head in the door, "C'mon you two, we've got a date to go on!" he urged us into the hallway and outside.

Allyson grinned and whispered to me when he ran to catch up with Alice, "Ah think he means **_he_** has a date to go awhn… ** _yo'wah_** just a third wheel and **_ah'm_** the spare tire." She was trying desperately not to laugh out loud, but we were both failing miserably. Fortunately, our other two cohorts were too absorbed in conversation to notice.

After eating the best noodles I'd ever tasted and drinking some hot tea, the four of us waltzed around the town until night began to fall, three of us subtly dropping hints that would hopefully bring one's memories back. Tarrant told toned-down versions of his outrageous tea parties ( _some of which I had attended myself_ ), Allyson reminded her of playing croquet with strange equipment shaped like animals and pilfering the delectable pastries known as tarts from a very irritable woman, and I was saddled with the subject of people of unusually small or large physiques ( _go figure…_ ).

Her eyes held hidden recognition with each wild story, but she never let on that she really believed us. Perhaps she was in denial that we could've come looking for her after all this time, or that what she was recalling was nothing more than a fantasy. Regardless of what she thought at the moment, she wouldn't be able to deny a bit of it once she stepped through the Portal. Whether she remembered everything while still in Overland would be irrelevant then; she would get all of her memories back as soon as she set foot in Underland.

 _Hopefully_.

Absolem had worried about the length of time that Alice had been absent, and the strength of the forgetfulness spell he had put on her. He and Mirana had both been concerned that simply returning her to our world wouldn't work to bring back every single detail of her last visit, and that extra steps would have to be taken so that everything wouldn't go all haywire. That on top of our current demonic debacle wasn't making this situation any less sticky, not to mention that the Butterfly again failed to mention these very important details to either of my traveling partners. The Hatter wouldn't take too kindly to not having this information, but his reaction couldn't hold a candle to how badly the youngest member of our quirky quartet would respond. To be _quite_ honest, I think she'd get mad if you threw her a surprise party and didn't tell her about it! Being left out of the loop must be her biggest pet peeve, because she sure does hit the roof when it happens.

            Apparently my worriedness had tuned everything else out, because the next thing I heard over my distress was Allyson's drawl, "I do declare…Ivan ahre you even listening to me?"

            I snapped out of it, "Huh? What is it? What?"

            She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, "Ah was **_trying_** to ask if you could take me back to the ship…it's getting late and ah'm about to freeze. Ah'm not built fo' this cold weatha." She shivered, despite the shawl around her shoulders and the muff wrapped around her hands. I could tell by the chattering in her teeth that this wasn't part of the act; she was really that cold.

            "Oh! Oh yes, let’s go, I'm getting cold too." The frigid air hit me suddenly, like I'd been plunged into a tub of ice water. I hadn't realized how chilly it had gotten once the Sun had gone down; I guess all the self-tormenting I'd been doing had kept me distracted from the nip in the wind. The two of us bid the others goodnight ( _they promised to be along soon after_ ) and began our trek back to the boat side by side, our heels clicking loudly in the growing quiet on the streets.

            As soon as we were out of earshot, she glowered up at me and shook her head, "Mah, mah, mah…a bit sidetracked tonight, aren't we?" she scolded.

            "Sorry, I'm just worried that something is going to go bad…things haven't exactly been peaches and cream here lately y'know…" I tugged my coat tighter around myself to help fend off the breeze. It didn't help much.

            "Ah know… ah'm a little concerned mahself, but theyah's not a whole lot we can do." Her cheeks were rosy pink from exposure to the icy gusts, and her hair whipped wildly around her face, "We just have to stay calm is all… _Stayne_? " her voiced suddenly dropped to a whisper and she stopped in the middle of the sidewalk.

            "Yeah?"

            "Shh! _Do…do you feel like we'yah being followed?_ " her eyes frantically searched mine.

            I scanned the street for any other people besides us, Alice and Tarrant, and only saw a few shopkeepers closing up for the night and a woman with a baby stroller on the other side of the main road. Nothing seemed suspicious or out of place to me, so I shook my head.

She didn't buy it, " _Ah'm tellin' you, that lady ova theyah is giving me goosebumps…she's been trailin' us since we walked away from Alice and the Hatter._ "

"She has?" never bothering to even look at the other side of the street, I hadn't noticed her until Allyson spoke up. Now that she mentions it, that is kind of odd…

But what really creeped us both out is that when we stole another glance in her direction, she had completely disappeared. There wasn't a trace left of our peculiar pursuer, or any indication that she'd been there to begin with.

Grabbing Allyson by her elbow, I took off at a much quicker pace towards the ship, "Walk as fast as you can, we need to get back to your room so we can be closer to the Portal and get outta here. We have to make sure that wasn't a demon that we just saw."

"A **_demon_**?! Surely that wasn't a-" she stopped short again, looking dead ahead of us with a fixed expression of pure shock. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that the woman had rematerialized just up the street from us, still pushing the carriage ahead of her. Her face was concealed by her enormous purple feathered hat, and her dress covered everything but her hands, which were a bronzy shade of brown. The nails on the tips of her gaunt fingers were pointed and hooked at the ends, almost like claws. She flashed us a smile that was unnaturally white and all sharp canine teeth. Her eyes were a vibrant blood red, her pupils catlike and slitted.

Prying my eyes away from the terrifying figure, I dared to look into the stroller at the baby she was carrying about. The ghost-pale child was apparently a little boy, judging by the blue blanket wrapped around him, with eyes as green as the Hatter's and hair so fair that it could've been white. He made no cooing noises or little gurgles like most infants I'd seen, he only stared up in confusion at his caretaker; he didn't seem happy at all. However, he wasn't crying or screaming either…

"Excuse me chil'…" the woman finally spoke, reaching down into the carriage, "I believe you dropped dis back dere…" she held out the silver locket that I'd given Allyson just before she'd left Underland. I hadn't even noticed that she had it on when we came here, and from the expression on her face, evidently she didn't notice it was gone.

"Oh! Um…thank you kindly ma'am… Ah would've missed this terribly if ah'd lost it!" she cautiously took the necklace from her and put it back around her neck, then quickly gazed down at the baby, "That's a precious little boy you have theyah…what's his name?"

"Bowie. 'im is not mine, 'e belong to a friend. She's gahn off on business, so I tek care of 'im 'til she get bahck." She replied, rocking the buggy gently back and forth, " 'im a sweet baby… neva cries or fuss. Always quiet…"

Well I'd be awfully silent too if I was being dragged around by a demon! It frightened me to wonder what this creature had done to the parents to get this child away from them; were they even still alive now? And what was she going to do with the little boy?

 Allyson waved at the baby who, much to my surprise waved back, and then gave his babysitter a small curtsy, "Well we must be off, thank you again fo' finding mah necklace fo' me…goodnight!" she wrapped her fingers around my wrist and pulled me down the street to the ship.

She jerked the necklace over her head once we were out of sight, letting the chain pool in the palm of her hand, "Ah won't wear this anotha minute until Absolem or somebody checks it. Theyah could be a demon or something inside fo' all ah know." She wrapped the muff around her fist and continued to march down the lane with me in tow.

A sudden, horrible thought crossed my mind as we neared our destination, "You…you don't think that she's…going to find Alice and Tarrant, do you?"

She paused momentarily; looking back over her shoulder, then shook her head and kept walking, "Well she's gone now. If that's what she's doing, then we won't have time to beat her to them. We'll just have to stay here and hope that they'ah alright." We finally reached the platform that led up to the deck, and soon descended below it to the girls' room. Allyson wrenched the door open and scanned the room warily.

The Portal was already open, the surface of the Looking-Glass shimmering like water stirred by a breeze. Outlines of the people on the other side were faintly visible through the ripples, as was the shape of the fountain head towering over the pool we'd come through.

"We can't go through just yet; all four of us have to go through it at the same time. If we don't it'll close up and leave the two of them stranded."

She flopped down on the bed, her legs dangling off the side and her arms flung over her head. The hand-warmer was laid across her stomach and the possibly cursed necklace was still clutched in her fingers. She turned it over and over, inspecting the silver covering for any tampering, "Ok. Well, the necklace looks normal… but that don't mean a thing. If she did anything to it, it won't be obvious. Ah'm almost afraid to open the locket to check…"

            Before I could assure her that this fear was totally justified, she pried the lid open slowly, revealing the heart-shaped clock that ticked away beneath. The hands on the clock face spun at their accelerated speed; this watch runs on Underland time, rather than Overland, so it goes faster than an ordinary watch. Nothing was scratched, bent, or broken. All seemed well…for the moment.

            "Like ah said, it won't be anything obvious." She snapped it shut again, twirling it around her fingers idly. Relief washed over me; there wasn't anything malevolent in it this time. But what about the next time something like this happened? And the next? What then?

            As we fell silent again, the floorboards outside the door began creaking and groaning with the weight of footsteps, and we both went rigid. She sat bolt upright on the bed, her eyes narrowed anxiously. I could hear my heart thudding violently in my chest as I reached for my concealed dagger…

            The door swung open, and the two lovebirds trotted in, giggling and smiling like it was going out of style. I put the blade away before any of them could notice, reclining back into my chair with a heavy sigh.

            "You all scared the life outta us!" Allyson scolded them. Her hand was clasped over her heart, so as to prevent it from leaping out of her chest. Even from where I was, it was evident that she was shaking like a leaf.

            Alice quickly became concerned, "Is something wrong? Are you both alright?" she had quite the grip on the Hatter's arm, and she pulled him with her as she leaned forward.

            "Not exactly…we had a rather frightening encounter on the way back here. Some woman followed us almost all the way from where we left you two, and then she just disappeared right in front of us." I replied.

            "You mean…?" the Hatter started, but let his words trail off. He knew exactly what I meant, without even saying it.

            "Like…a ghost?" Alice finished the thought, but using the incorrect supernatural being.

            "Or worse…" Allyson corrected her. All four of us shuddered, "It's a good thing you came back when you did, or you might'a run into her yourselves."

            "What did she look like?" they both asked in unison.

            "She had blood red eyes, and claws instead of fingers, and really sharp teeth, and…" she sounded like she was describing some monster from a horror story, not something we'd just seen walking down the street, "she had a baby stroller. There was a little boy in it…ah don't know what she's gonna do with him, but ah wish theyah was something we could do to save him..."

            "But she's gone now, and it's too late to hunt her down. Not that it would do any good."

            "He's right." Tarrant agreed, "We'll be safer here anyway; I doubt anything would try to bother us here…" he pulled Alice closer to him, quietly assuring her that he would protect her. She wouldn't really need much guarding though; Alice could take care of herself just as well as any one of us.

            Though I hardly believe the four of us together would be able to handle one of these monsters, seeing as none of us have any magical anti-demon powers…which would be nice right about now.

Alice laid her head on his shoulder, "I don't feel very safe now, knowing there's something lurking around outside…" his arm snaked around her waist, holding her even closer.

The gesture dredged up a memory from the depths of my mind, where I'd hidden most of my happy thoughts for many years…any thoughts of my parents, Luna, my life before Iracebeth had kidnapped me. I'd suppressed them for so long, and now this one was fighting to resurface, so I let it…

 

_The two of us were walking hand-in-hand through the forest where Chessur lived, the branches swaying in the evening breeze. The woods were even darker at twilight than they normally were, which greatly reduced our eyesight (on top of my left eye being patched up), and Luna was beginning to get worried. We were only twelve and thirteen at the time…_

_"I told you we never should've played hide and seek with those cheeky rascals! I knew they were going to run off and leave us!" she chided me for falling into her cousins' trap. Christian and Tarrant had coerced us into playing their game, and had left us out in Tulgey Wood all alone. I didn't mind being by myself with Luna, but she wasn't too happy about their method of giving us "quality time together"._

_"Relax Luna, we're almost home. It's not like they took us all the way to Gummer Slough and left us." I tried in vain to calm her down, but she was adamant that the two of them would rue the day they were born when she was done with them!_

_"Luckily for them…" she muttered, crossing her arms._

            _I pulled her closer to me, coaxing a small smile out of her. Her pale arm wrapped around my waist, and mine held fast to her shoulders. The two of us were so entranced by one another that we barely even noticed the root that suddenly reached up and snatched our feet out from under us. We toppled to the ground, one on top of the other, both of us screaming out in surprise. I managed to land face-first in the dirt, but Luna had twisted around and landed on her back beside me._

_"Loci! Are you ok?" unfazed by the fall, she leapt up and pulled me to my feet (which was exceedingly difficult because of the gangly limbs I hadn't grown into yet)._

_I nodded, flipping my hair out of my face, "Never mind me, are you alright?" she didn't look hurt, but I couldn't help being concerned._

_She rolled her eyes and nodded, "Yes, I'm fine. Hold on, you got some dirt on you…" she reached up to wipe it away with her thumb. Her fingers brushed my cheek clean, and even after the dust was gone, they lingered. They pushed my hair aside – again – and then her hands found their way to my shoulders, her silver eyes found their way into mine. One hand of mine stroked her lavender hair, turned nearly grey by the fading light, the other rested in the small of her back. We were only centimeters away, our foreheads pressing against each other…and she leaned forward first. Our lips met for a few brief moments, but before I could even comprehend the thought of pulling back, something else dragged us apart._

_The sound of clattering armor approaching, angry shouting…the Card soldiers had found me again._

_We jerked away from each other, startled by the sound of my pursuers. Not thinking of myself, or what would happen once they caught me, I demanded that Luna get herself home to safety before they found us. At first she had refused to budge from my side, but she eventually relented and fled into the forest, with one last look at me before she was out of sight. I had promised her that we'd see each other again, and that we would be together at last…one day…_

_I was such a liar. We never saw each other again._

 

            " _Hello?! **Stayne**! Bad time to be daydreamin' dear!_" Allyson derailed my train of thought with a harsh whisper and a shaking shoulder, " _Ah you **trying** to get left here? Let's go! Tarrant and Alice are about to head into the Portal!_" she tugged me out of my seat just as his foot broke the surface of the mirror. Alice looked like she was in a trance; taking slow, mechanical steps, her eyes never moving from his face, and their hands were clasped together while he led her through the Portal. They spoke in low murmurs, inaudible even in the quiet of the night.

            In order to not be separated from them, I held one of Allyson's hands, and she took Alice's free hand in hers. Alice didn't even turn to look as she disappeared into the Looking-Glass, "Ah you ready Stayne?" Allyson's foot melted into the liquid surface, then her hand, her leg, her arm. I nodded when it reached past her shoulder, and she turned forward, allowing the Portal to consume the rest of her.

            Taking a deep breath before following her, I closed my eyes and stepped blindly into the glass.


	5. Chapter 4 - Home Sweet Home

**_Allyson_ **

 

     When I opened my eyes again, the four of us were standing on the rim of the fountain we'd entered Overland from, still holding hands and holding our breath. Almost no time had passed while we were gone. Everyone was staring up at us expectantly, holding their breath too. Slowly the other three let out gasps and their eyes fluttered open; the boys smiled triumphantly, but Alice looked a little more surprised than anything. It wasn't until I peeked around her that I realized that the Hatter had transformed back into his normally abnormal-looking self, and so had Ilosovic.

            She stared at him for a moment before speaking, "Ha…Hatter?" she asked, clearly puzzled by her current situation.

            He nodded fervently, "Yes Alice. Do you…remember me? Like you promised you would? You said you'd never forget me…" I thought he was about to go on one of his incredibly long-winded ramblings, but she stopped him before he could start. And by 'stopped him', I mean she kissed him square on the mouth mid-sentence.

            "How could I forget you when you left me with such a wonderful memory to hold onto? " she smiled up at him as they embraced and the rest of us cheered, " _I told you I'd be back again before you knew it_ …"

            "That wasn't quite quick enough for me love. If it'd been up to me, you'd have been back within the hour! If it took **_that_** long! I don't know that I could've even waited **_that_** long…it's been so **_dreadful_** without you here, simply **_awful_** …" he went at it again, the words just rolling out of his mouth.

            "Hatter-" she tried to cut him off once more, but he just kept going.

            "Nothing was the same with you gone! It was like all the muchness in the world had left, and everything was empty. The tea didn't taste right; the bread and butter just fell apart…"

            " _Hatter_?" I tried my luck at stopping him, but he didn't even notice. However, I noticed that my voice had reverted back to its usual drawl, and was no longer a Hollywood accent.

            "Not to mention I had to kill Time again, and he wasn't too thrilled about it the second go-round. You'd think he'd just let it go, but apparently not…you know what interval he stopped at this time? Just **_before_** tea time! I've hardly eaten since you left! Or slept for that matter…"

            " ** _Hatter_**!" Stayne attempted to get his attention, but that didn't work either.

            He continued to prattle on, most of his speech not making any sense, until everyone else in the Garden grew weary of standing around listening to it, " **HATTER _!_** " every friend of his within a twenty-foot radius shouted. He jolted to a stop, like the yelling had startled him awake from a dream.

            "Save some of it for the ride home, you'll have plenty of time to catch up then!" I reminded him that she was coming with us, not staying in the Garden or leaving us again.

            "Allyson! You're here too?" she twisted around after she heard my voice. We shared a hug that nearly landed us both in the water behind us.

            "Long time no see! Glad you could finally get back." We helped each other down from the pool's border to prevent ourselves from getting an unwanted bath. When Stayne's towering figure stepped off the wall, she immediately recognized him.

            "Hello Ilosovic…have you managed to keep her out of trouble?" she nodded towards me jokingly.

            He smirked, "She hasn't been here long enough to get into anything, but I've been trying my best since you left. Needless to say, my work has been cut out for me…" he nudged my shoulder, so I stuck my tongue out at him.

            "He's also been working on his sense of humor, as you can tell." I retorted, demonstrating that mine was still intact and in working order, "He's still a little rusty though. I've tried working with him, but he just won't listen."

            "Yeah, yeah… Alright, let's get going, we've got a party to get to!" he herded us towards the carriages.

Alice was very flattered that we were holding a ball just for her return, and insisted that she didn't see what the big deal was about it. She exchanged greetings with all of our old friends, and met a few of the new ones as well. Thorne hung back from the crowd around her, refusing to go anywhere near her. Lucky girl.

I climbed into the wagon with my other band members, who all started chattering and firing off questions at one time. I finally got them to quiet down enough for me to explain the whole escapade in a nutshell, omitting the run-in with the demon woman so Luke wouldn't flip his lid. My necklace was still clutched tightly in my hand, and would not be leaving that place until I could pass it along to Absolem.

            "I wonder which carriage Alice is going to ride in?" Maccay thought aloud when I'd finished my tale. They had all hoped that she would get in with us so that they could meet her before we got to Marmoreal. I didn't have the chance to speculate before she climbed onto the back of the Bandersnatch with the Hatter.

            "I guess she's riding back with her _man_ …" C'Lee snickered, elbowing Mayo and Lucy on either side of her. Everybody joined in the giggling as the buggy lurched forward to follow the others back to the castle. Luke and I just rolled our eyes and laughed along with them, knowing that we always caught the same flak for any kind of affection that we showed each other. Not that it bothers us much; we've grown used to it by now.

            "Has anybody in this cart ever been to a party down here before?" Matt reclined against the back of the seat, his arms crossed behind his head, "I've heard they get crazy…"

            "Chyeah, I have. After Alice and I beat the Jabberwocky, the White Queen had a huge party, but it didn't get too wild. Not while I was there anyway…" Stayne had relayed some stories to me through Absolem about some of the partygoers' antics after I'd returned home, but the stories were so insane and off the wall that I let the end of that sentence dangle. My friends have imaginations, so they could use them just as well as I could.

             "I guess they didn't want to traumatize you."

            " _They_ didn't **_want_** to? **_Y’all_** didn't give them a chance!"

            "Point taken."

 

**_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~_ **

**_Tarrant_ **

 

            Evening was falling slowly when we crossed through the gates of Marmoreal, Alice's arms wrapped around me still. The Bandersnatch wasn't the most comfy ride, but she made it worthwhile.

            "I can't believe I'm actually back. I was beginning to think I'd never see any of this again…or you…" she pulled me closer before we dismounted, "I've been having strange dreams lately; I dreamt that I could see all of you, and hear you, but I couldn't get to you. And then in another dream, there were mirrors all around me, but when I tried to touch them, they burst into millions of pieces…"

            "Allyson said something similar to that earlier…maybe you should ask her about it." Swinging my leg over Fluffy's head, my arms stretched out as I helped her down off his back. She scratched him behind the ears and rubbed his nose, receiving an enthusiastic lick in return.

            "Perhaps, but for now…" her arms went around me again, her head rested on my shoulder, "I just want to focus on the good things that have happened today."

            "Would…I be one of those things?" I returned the hug, happy to have her with me again.

            "Of course. _You're the best one so far_ …"

            Alice pulled back enough that we could look into each other's eyes, though neither of us said anything. We only gazed dreamily at other, smiling. There really wasn't anything I could say that would fit this situation, and evidently she was speechless too.

            Our friends, on the other hand, still retained their voices, as they called out to us to come inside before it got dark.

            Not wanting to be left out of the festivities, all of them being in her name after all, Alice pulled me into the palace ballroom to join with the others.

 

**_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~_ **

**_Allyson_ **

 

            "Curse the fool who invented this infernal thing! Maccay, Amber, somebody get this corset off of me please! I can't reach the laces in the back." It had taken all of forty-five minutes to get the top layer of clothes off of myself, so that I could put my concert costume back on, and now I couldn't get the cussed thing undone. The shoes had been the first item of clothing to come off, and that had been an event in and of itself, even after the hoop cage had come off. I couldn't bend down far enough to reach the buckles on my boots because the corset was so snug!

            C'Lee, the closest one to the washroom door, came to my rescue and finally allowed some air into my lungs. There were creases in my skin where the material had bound me too tightly, and as the blood flow returned, it felt like a billion ants were crawling all over my skin. I was all too glad to let my hair down too, shaking out the tension from it being pulled back all day.

            As I zipped up my boots and retied the eyepatch behind my head, Rosalynn cracked the door open a bit and slid inside, followed by Jasmin, "You girls all ready?" they glanced around the room. The boys were already in the ballroom with everyone else; we'd decided to freshen up before we came back out, "We thought we'd walk you to the party. Seein' as how there are some rather unsavory characters about."

            "If you mean that Thorne guy, I think we can handle him." Mayo replied.

            "Maybe they don't need an escort after all Rose." Mrs. Stayne chuckled, "I believe even that boy has the horse sense to let these girls alone."

            Mrs. Hightopp didn't see it that way, "Don't insult a horse's intelligence like that Jas." she disappeared into the crowded hallway, with the rest of us trailing behind and laughing. I'd thought it was impossible to find someone that was easier to pick on than Stayne, but boy was I dead wrong! What's even better is that everyone else sees the humor in it too, and it's not just me poking fun at him.

            The two older women soon put on their masks and melded with their husbands into the dancers already on the floor. The whole crowd wore elaborate masquerade disguises in all the colors you could imagine, and then some! Beautiful gowns swished and swayed to waltzes and quadrilles. None of us knew where to begin, until the boys finally located us and we all took turns twirling around with one another. Our other friends; Stayne, Alice, the Hatter, both Tweedles, Mally, Chessur, Saleen and Elias appeared after one ridiculously long dance, accompanied by Tarrant's cousin and his wife. We'd all worn ourselves out a bit, and retreated to the refreshments table to refuel for the next round.

            Despite my many reassurances, most of them were paranoid that someone had spiked the punch with pishsavler or slipped some Upelkuchen into the food, and were extremely cautious when they first sampled the buffet. I, on the other hand, knew from the lack of foul odor or overpowering sweet aroma that neither potions were present, and then proceeded to gulp down three goblets of whatever the drink was ( _some bubbly lavender colored stuff from Snud_ ) and a ham sandwich with no crusts.

            "I don't suppose any of you would be willing to dance the Lobster Quadrille, would you?" Ilosovic tipped back his glass and downed his second drink.

            I'd always wanted to try it, but I'd never seen anyone else do it, so I had no clue what I was getting into when I volunteered. The rest of the band was too tired, as were most of the Underlanders.

            "Wait, I thought the Gryphon or the Mock Turtle had to sing it…that everyone else who tried messed up the words?" Lucy asked. In response, there was a loud gasp from the crowd.

            We all turned toward the stage just in time to see Mirana ascend to the platform, with a great silver beast striding behind her, and a strange creature following after. The first animal was at least three feet taller than her, with the head of a bird and the body of a white lion. The second being had the head, tail and hind legs of a brown and white cow, while the front legs and body were that of a large turtle.

            "I'm guessing that's them?" Tony stood to get a better view of the hulking animal.

            Luke nodded; the Gryphon and Mock Turtle were the ones he stayed with, in the small portion of the Outlands desert that wasn't bone dry and blazing hot. They lived in an oasis that was extremely difficult to get to, even if you knew where it was. I envied that my boyfriend got to spend his visits sitting on a beach in the sun while I was stuck with the Grouchfly and surrounded by choking blue smoke and eternal dusky light. But hey, you can't win 'em all.

            There was a microphone placed in the front-center stage, and the White Queen somehow managed to figure out how to work it without our help, "Oh…ahem. Ladies and gentlemen, children, and other assorted guests, may I present to you the Gryphon. He will be performing the Lobster Quadrille-" she was interrupted by a thundering cheer and applause, "…accompanied by the Mock Turtle and a few of our guests from Overland, the Wonderland Warriors." She finished, much to the band's surprise. Guess they didn't get the memo.

            Luckily, there was sheet music for them to go on, as most of them had never heard of the song before tonight. Chuckling, I shooed them to the platform, and then followed Ilosovic to the dance floor, "Well this puts a whole new meaning on ' _dancing with myself_ '."

            "I thought that if a girl showed up to a party and saw somebody wearing the same thing that she'd be rather upset?" He teased.

            "That only applies to other girls that are wearing the same thing. And it doesn't bother me anyway…mimicry is the sincerest form of flattery." I replied smugly.

            "I'm touched, really."

            "Yeah, touched in the head maybe."

            "Would you go get in your spot for the dance?!"

            Dodging yet another attempt to knock my hat askew, I jogged to the inner circle of ladies and took my place across from him. He rolled his eyes before standing between Tarrant and Christian, and that's when I noticed that Alice and Zada were on either side of me.

            "Hello, Alice. I didn't expect to see you doing a quadrille."

            She turned to me, her mask only covering her eyes and forehead, "I could say the same to you, Allyson."

            Zada spoke up for the first time since I'd met her, "Have you ever done one before?" we weren't sure which of us she was addressing, but we both answered; Alice with a nod, me with a sheepish grin and a claim that I at least attempted some of the ones earlier this evening…which I had, but that didn't mean that they were **_successful_** attempts by any stretch of the imagination.

            "Good luck then. I'm not that great at it either."

            "I guess that makes three of us then." Alice giggled.

            Actually, judging by the looks on our partners' faces, make that six of us. I could also see the Tweedles partnered together, which would most likely end in a brouhaha over who stepped on whose toes first. Thankfully, Tony and Amber were sitting this one out, so as not to start an all-out riot.

            "I'm surprised Tarrant's father isn't out here dancing. He's certainly got the energy for it!" Alice added. She wasn't wrong about that; we'd both seen that in person!

            "Uncle Zam is awfully spry for a man his age," Zada admitted, "though I don't think Auntie Rose wants him doing figures after the **_last_** ball they went to…" she sniggered.

            "What happened?"

            "Mention Nidarian ale and Mome Raths in the same sentence and you'll find out." and that was her final answer, besides her quiet laughter. The two of us could only imagine what connection the two things held, and every possible situation involving them that I could think of was quite hilarious.

            When the commotion finally died down, the Gryphon cleared its throat, adjusting the microphone with a taloned paw, and began the song;

           

_"Will you walk a little faster?" said a whiting to a snail,_

_"There's a porpoise close behind us, and he's treading on my tail._

_See how eagerly the lobsters and the turtles all advance!_

_They are waiting on the shingle- will you come and join the dance?_

_Will you, won't you, will you, won't you, will you join the dance?_

_Will you, won't you, will you, won't you, won't you join the dance?_ __  
  


            We advanced forward twice, until we took the hands of our partners, and then we spun around three times together before trading off to whoever was to our left. The next step was to take the two steps back, and then to kneel down in preparation for the next figure.

 

_"You can really have no notion how delightful it will be_

_When they take us up and throw us, with the lobsters out to sea!"_

_But the snail replied "Too far, too far!" and gave a look askance-_

_Said he thanked the whiting kindly, but he would not join the dance._

_Would not, could not, would not, could not, would not join the dance._

_Would not, could not, would not, could not, could not join the dance._  
  


            This was the tricky part; whoever we were across from had to throw us into the air, and then catch us only moments later. The kneeling down bit is so we could get some extra lift when we're catapulted upwards, and our partners could have a little extra time to brace themselves. Not to mention the fliers had to perform a somersault in midair. Again, we trade off to the left, and take two steps backward.

 

_"What matters it how far we go?" his scaly friend replied._

_"There is another shore, you know, upon the other side._

_The further off from England, the nearer is to France-_

_Then turn not pale, beloved snail, but come and join the dance._

_Will you, won't you, will you, won't you, will you join the dance?_

_Will you, won't you, will you, won't you, won't you join the dance?_

           

            For a final time, we took two steps forward; our partners spin us twice before they form the outer circle with a bow, while I and the rest of the ladies seat ourselves in the floor as the inner circle. The music died away in the din of the crowd, and the Gryphon himself bowed before leaving the stage. The Mock Turtle attempted to scurry after him, but his cumbersome body got in the way.

            As I pulled myself to my feet, I realized with a start that the last partner I held was none other than Arondight Thorne. Even under his ornate mask and elaborate cape, and despite the fact I'd only met him today, I'd recognize that cold sneer and those scathing brown eyes anywhere. He boldly strode over, and bowed for a moment before speaking, "That was quite remarkable for your first Lobster Quadrille. I'm actually rather impressed." There was acid in his compliment, I could feel it seething out.

            "Oh, thanks." I didn't bother to lift the eyepatch this time; it wasn't worth the effort, "You were alright too, I guess. I didn't even realize it was you until I looked up." Nor did I bother to hide my distaste for his presence, even though to him it should've been obvious from earlier today. It couldn't hurt to remind him every once in a while.

            "I noticed that. It seems doubtful that you would've continued dancing if you had."

            Sticking my chin up defiantly, I crossed my arms over my chest, "I don't let people I dislike get in the way of things that I enjoy."

            His expression was one of mock surprise, "And here I thought we were getting along so well…"

            "As much as I hate to disappoint," Ilosovic suddenly appeared at my side, "I don't see it that way." The two of them glared each other down heatedly, neither of them giving an inch.

            "And I'm sure you'd know **_all_** about getting along with **_her_** , wouldn't you? After all, if you can't **_beat_** them, _join_ them, as the old saying goes." Thorne growled. Both of us were glowering at him now; nobody picks on Stayne about me beating him up but me.

            Before I could form a retort, Mirana intervened, "If that is truly the case, Mr. Thorne, you had better hope that you will have the **_option_** to join her as opposed to **_getting_** beaten." She warned him before escorting me and the Knight of Hearts away from the Knight of Diamonds. We thanked her for running him off, and quickly returned to the party to find some of our friends.

            Luke was the first one we came across, as he'd been looking for me since the dance had ended and the band had gotten off the stage, "Ah, there you are! I couldn't see you in the crowd… ** _waaay_** too many people in here."

            It was a bit claustrophobic, I'll be the first to admit, "Could you see it good from the stage? The quadrille?" My good mood quickly returned as the thoughts of the dance came flooding back. The leftover adrenaline from my brief flight during the second figure was slowly ebbing away.

            His face, whatever was visible beneath his mask, shifted from happy to worried in a split second, "Yeah I saw it. Why didn't you tell me you were going to be thrown into the air?!"

            I rolled my eyes ( _though there was only the one that was visible_ ), and took his hands in mine, "Honey, I swear on everything that I own, that I am completely fine. Nobody I danced with would have dropped me if they'd had to catch me. I promise."

            Stayne tried to throw in, "Nobody but Thorne, anyhow." But I gestured like I was going to elbow him in the gut to shut him up. He quickly shut his trap, making the excuse that he was going to look for Alice and Tarrant and walking off.

            No sooner was he out of sight than the rest of my band had swarmed around me, each talking excitedly about encountering the Gryphon for their first time. Lucy and C'Lee recounted that he was a very proper creature, a well-mannered beast if they'd ever met one, while Amber noted that he seemed very depressed in her opinion, but that it was a wise sort of sadness, like an old gentleman that had not known an easy life, but had learned from the one he had. Maccay, who'd been standing the closest to him during the performance, claimed that there were waves of cool air coming off of his feathered body, and that she was certain that it wasn't a draft that she was feeling. She'd felt it even when she walked around him offstage, when he'd been standing around and talking to them.

            Luke, who'd been hanging around with the enormous animal and the equally large Mock Turtle since he was very young, confirmed all their descriptions. He elaborated on what Amber had said, moaning and groaning about having to listen to endless bouts of sobbing during stories and conversations with the both of them. No one knew why they cried so much, but they were highly infamous for it, and for all the wisdom they supposedly held ( _they were allegedly as old as Absolem himself_ ) it was almost impossible to get it out of either of them without them bursting into tears.

It was beginning to become evident to me, on the other hand, that getting information out of anything down here that wasn't human but could talk was exceedingly difficult in any circumstances.

            Absolem, speak of the devil, fluttered out of the swaying mass of dancers and alighted on the brim of my hat again. His tiny face was solemn, his wings didn't beat very fast; something was clearly very wrong.

            "What is it Absolem? What's wrong?" I reached up with my index finger and let the Butterfly crawl onto it.

            He sighed heavily, letting his wings fall still, "Something is draining the power from the Portal you all came through…we're worried it might close with you still here."

            It didn't take long for what he meant to sink in.

 

**_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~_ **

**_Ilosovic_ **

 

            "I'm so terribly sorry you all have to leave so suddenly. We've tried to fix the Portal, but nothing seems to be working-"

            "It's alright your majesty. It's fine." Allyson cut Mirana off before she could go on. It didn't look like she was fine with it to me, but her tone insisted not to press the matter. Her mouth was set in a thin line, her eyes were slightly narrowed in annoyance, and her arms were crossed impatiently.

            Absolem was perched at the top of the mirror, "Since the charms are wearing off, some time has passed while you were gone. It was only a few minutes, however, and your party guests believe that you haven't started your concert yet. No one there remembers the demon attack, you will be the only ones there that do."

            "I wish we could forget it too…" one of the twins, C'Lee I believe, remarked. Her sister put her arm around her shoulders. All ten of them seemed to agree; no one wanted those images to haunt them ever again.

            The band bid all their friends Fairfarren, all hoping and promising that they would soon return to our world. We all knew, Overlanders and Underlanders alike, that these promises would be harder to keep than they ever have been, thanks to these mysterious smoke creatures and whoever or whatever is controlling them. If it weren't for that, these kids could stay as long as they wanted, even after the party had ended. They could stay forever if they so chose.

            Now they may never get the chance to stay at all. We might never see any of them ever again…and they don't even know it.

            None of us were allowed to even suggest that possibility to any of them; there was no need to frighten them any further, no need to warn them that they may lose this world permanently should anything else go wrong. All but one of them believed that our problem would be easily fixed. Allyson knew better. I could see it in her eyes, beyond the irritation and tension, there was fear. She was scared to leave.

            She said her goodbyes last, perhaps hoping to prolong their departure just a little while longer. Though Thorne was nowhere in sight, the other two Knights embraced their fellow warrior, and wondered if she'd come see them sometime. She said she would whenever she got the chance. McTwisp was reminded to keep his pocket watch wound properly, so that the time would always be right. Her request that the March Hare not throw anything at her on the way out was met by a flying teacup, but Mally vowed not to make war with her foot every time she walked by. Tweedledee and Dum fought over who would tell her goodbye first. Chessur faded into thin air, the vapor swimming around her head until all she could see where his eyes, which soon disappeared with a _puff_! My parents and the Hatter's were glad to have met her, and looked forward to seeing her after this all blew over. She curtsied to the Kings and Queen Rubi, but Mirana would have none of this formal business; the White Queen pulled her into a surprise hug and kissed her forehead lightly, while warning her to be very careful. Allyson promised she would, before turning to me, "I guess this is it then…" she said, smiling humorlessly. The false smile fell away quickly as she came forward.

            I knelt down to put my arms around her, and tried to assure her that this wasn't the end, "For now…don’t worry, we'll get this sorted out."

            " _You don't know that._ " She hissed under her breath. When we pulled apart, her eyes were glassy, and a single tear was trailing down her face.

            "You don't know that we won't. Have a little faith."

            "If you say so…" she huffed skeptically, "Be careful while I'm gone, ok?" she brushed her tears away, even as they kept pouring out. I nodded. She moved on to the Hatter.

            "N-n-nnow don't cry! Don't you do it!" he scolded her, "Look here, look…if you stop crying, I'll…uh…I will personally make you a hat! Your very own Hightopp hat!"

            She laughed through the crying, "Really?" she sniffled.

            "Yes, of course! You can wear it whenever and wherever you like!" Tarrant nearly smothered the poor girl in a hug, almost knocking the hat she already had on off her head. She tried to hug him back, but the way he was holding her, her arms were trapped at her sides, "Be careful while you're gone, we all want you to come back as soon as you can…"

            She mumbled, "Mmhmm." Unable to get enough breath to actually say anything. When he finally released her, she gasped for air and teetered over to Alice, the last in line.

            Allyson wiped the tear tracks from her cheeks and sniffed, "You still gonna be here when I get back Alice?" this question had been lingering in the air for a while now, though no one had bothered to ask it.

There was absolutely no hesitation in Alice's voice when she replied with a conclusive, "Yes." And Allyson's face lit up immediately, "I've decided to stay here; Overland didn't feel quite right after I came back to it, I always felt like something was missing. But now I've found what I was looking for, now I'm home." She glanced shyly at the Hatter, thinking nobody saw, and took his hand in hers. I don't think I've ever seen the colors on him any brighter than they were in that moment. Besides when she kissed him, that is.

"I wish I could stay too, but it's just not the right time." Allyson sighed, hugging Alice briefly before joining her band members at the front of the Portal. She waved goodbye with one arm, her other hand in Luke's as they lined up to return to their world.

Absolem was to lead them back through, so hopefully no demon attention would be attracted. He flew into the palm of her hand, waiting for the telltale shimmer on the surface of the Looking-Glass to signal that they could leave. When the time came, like prisoners being marched to their doom, the Wonderland Warriors trudged one by one into the Glass, each casting a long look behind them before disappearing.

Silence came over the group that surrounded the opening, and until Absolem returned, none of us went back to the party. Even when we did, none of us really felt like celebrating anymore.

 

**_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~_ **

**_Allyson_ **

 

We were safely on the other end of the Portal, the ten of us standing in the upstairs bathroom staring at our rippling reflections. The Butterfly had gone back to Underland almost as quickly as he'd ushered us through, which didn't give me the chance to tell him goodbye. Or to give him the necklace.

Great. Now I'm stuck with a probably possessed piece of jewelry. Just what I need.

Discarding the locket on the counter, I took a deep breath and looked over my fellow band members. They were all sullen and sulky, not a single one was smiling in the least.

"Well, we can't just stand around here all night guys. The show must go on." My pep talk failed miserably, but they knew that we had a concert to do. Tony and Sam did touch-ups on our hair and makeup, Amber readjusted our outfits, and Luke manned the sound booth.

There was just enough motivation in my speech to propel us to the stage and in front of the teeming crowd of partiers, and to dredge up my cliché vampire voice from earlier this evening, "Good evening, goblins and ghouls…"


	6. Chapter 5 - The Joining of Two Worlds

**_Allyson_ **

 

            Two weeks had dragged by since we'd been unceremoniously booted out of Alice's "welcome home" party by a bunch of paranormal activity, and to my knowledge no more has occurred since then! Everything went back to normal, according to Absolem, the very next day, and the pesky poltergeists haven't butted in up here as of yet either. The Portals are all in working order, and nothing's come or gone from any of them that we're aware of. I'm beginning to wonder if there ever was really anything wrong in the first place, or if somebody was playing some kind of sick practical joke on us.

            "No, I'm afraid those demons were very **_real_** , and very **_dangerous_**." The Butterfly corrected my theory, "We still haven't figured out who sent them, or why they would target you and your friends…"

            " ** _I'm_** very real and very dangerous." I chuckled, then shrugged and sprawled out over the mushroom we had been sitting on, "And anyway, if it **_had_** been a joke, it would've been **_funny_** at some point."

            He nodded in agreement, "Perhaps someone did find amusement in it…but they'd have to have a very warped sense of humor." Had I been in a foul mood, I could've remarked that **_he_** seemed to have one himself, but under the circumstances I felt pretty good.

After all, my birthday was about a week away, and I hoped that everything had settled down enough for me to have some sort of party in Underland with my friends. Lucy and C'Lee's birthday had only been a few days after the Halloween incident, so they hadn't even bothered to ask if they could celebrate down here. The Tweedles had been kind enough to make the Twins a pair of sweaters with their names on them ( _granted they were extremely itchy and hardly fit them at all, but it's the thought that counts_ ) and were able to pass them along to me for delivery. Not being the impolite sort, the girls took the presents and wore them occasionally, just not outside of their house. The explanation they gave their parents as to the origin of their birthday gifts was that they'd made them for each other, and apparently they bought that story.

"I don't think _'warped'_ quite covers whatever sense of humor that whole situation would fall under. That would be an understatement." Yawning, I rolled over again and peeled the Oraculum open to go back over the last few days. Keeping tabs on Alice and the others for the past few days had helped greatly to distract me from the demon attack; she and Tarrant had spent an awful lot of time together since she got home.

Usually, they could be found by the small stream that ran beside his house, her dress hiked up to her knees and both of their shoes discarded on the banks. Or they'd be lying in the grass near it, side by side, just talking and laughing. Often at night, they would curl up on his small sofa with a book, and read to each other until she fell asleep in his arms. Their words were not written on the piece of parchment before me, but the illustrations of them had nothing but love written in their eyes. Any fool could see it.

Absolem had let me visit them a few times, the first time I'd ever been allowed to leave the Mushroom forest during my dreams. He'd even come along with me once or twice, and we'd made an afternoon of it ( _it was nighttime in my world at the time, however_ ). In that time frame, I started to notice gradual changes in Alice's appearance…her lips were darker and rosy pink, her eyes had shifted from pale hazel to a bright shade of fuchsia, her hair was no longer dirty blonde, but was now truly yellow, her eyelashes and her already light skin were both snowy white. Absolem explained that this was occurring due to the fact that she was around the Hatter so much, and that he'd started up his hat making business again. He said that whatever had turned his hair and skin different colors was now affecting hers, and that it was only a matter of time before colorful patches like the ones around his eyes and his cheeks would appear on her. We got into several heated discussions over what colors hers would be, though neither of us ended up being right.

However, there was **_one_** thing we'd both seen eye to eye on that soon came to be…

We'd been talking about the eminent event from the very day I returned to the fungi-filled forest; the both of us knew it was coming sooner rather than later. The matter of debate was when it would happen. Stayne was the bearer of the news, and came galloping in at full speed, grinning like a fool all the while. He didn't even have to speak for us to know what he was coming to tell us, but we let him say it anyway, "Tarrant just asked Alice to marry him, just yesterday…and she said yes!"

I wore a smile to rival his, "Well **_of_** **_course_** she said yes! And if this happened **_yesterday_** , why didn’t you come then?! I was here!" the laughter in my voice didn't really reinforce the scolding, but I couldn't help it.

"Sorry, I had to send out messengers to the other kingdoms to let them know, and by the time that was over you were already back home. There's going to be a huge party after the ceremony, by the way, so be expecting your invitations soon."

"Wait…the other kingdoms are all coming back to Marmoreal? They **_just_** left!"

Absolem rolled the Oraculum up and placed it in its hiding spot, "This is the first time an Overlander and Underlander have gotten married in several centuries; I don't think anyone who can spare the time would want to miss such an occasion."

I know **_I_** wouldn't miss it for anything! My birthday could wait; I'd have another one next year anyway. You only get to see the wedding of the millennium once in your life, after all, "Have they set a date yet?"

Stayne shook his head, "They weren't very specific when they said ' _as soon as the last stitch is in her dress and not a moment later_ '. There's a tailor that's supposed to be coming tomorrow I think, all the way from Snud, to help with the ceremonial garb and whatnot."

The Butterfly, at the mention of the tailor's arrival, had a strange gleam in his eye that I'd seen many times before. He knew something that neither of us did, and he wasn't about to tell us what it was either. No matter how much I would later beg, plead, and beseech him, his lips would remain sealed.

"What about the bridesmaids' dresses and the groomsmen's' suits? Is the tailor doing them too?" he hadn't mentioned them, but I assumed that they would be handling that as well. His answer surprised me, however.

"Nope. Alice figured since **_you're_** going to be wearing them, you and your friends could design them yourselves. She loved your costumes at the ball, so she thinks you could handle something as simple as gowns and a few suits." He seemed pretty confident in this assumption too, and justifiably so. Our outfits had been pretty freakin' amazing, if I do say so myself. And I do, of course.

Looks like Amber and I will have our hands full for the next few days.

Bidding us fairfarren, the Knight of Hearts did an about-face and disappeared into the swirl of blue smoke and mushroom caps, his grey cape flying out behind him. I waited for the thud of his stallion's hooves to die away before I turned to Absolem and stood up.

"I guess I'd better get going then, I've got measurements and whatnot to do, and I've got to make some phone calls." Using the silver bracelets that allowed me to handle the Oraculum, I could also conjure the beginnings of a path between my room and the Mushroom Forest. The Butterfly still had to help sometimes, but since all this freaky demon mess started, he thought he should teach me how to make a temporary Portal in case I needed to make a sudden getaway.

It was harder than usual to focus because of all the excitement buzzing around my head, but with a little assistance, I managed to create the vortex around me that would essentially teleport me back to my bedroom. The smoke from his hookah got sucked up into the funnel, forming a blue tornado that swept me out of the warm night down below and into the brisk November morning up top.

 

**_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~_ **

**_Allyson_ **

 

By the time the pizza we ordered arrived, the floor of my drawing room was littered with a billion paper balls, packs of colored pencils, and a veritable assortment of sewing tools and fabric. I had gathered the whole group together, so that everyone would have a say in the design of the clothing.

The boys didn't really have much to worry about, all they would be wearing is a tux and a waistcoat that we'd bought and altered. The jackets were a deep, dark blue, the vests underneath was slightly lighter, and the pants we found were periwinkle. Their shoes and bow ties were shiny black.

Us girls, however, are much more complicated creatures, and are highly particular about our attire. Amber threw out at **_least_** thirty possible designs before she was satisfied with the neckline and sleeves, and twenty more to figure out the length of the skirts. Some of the shorter ones were rejected simply because we didn't want to give the more conservatively dressed Underlanders heart attacks. They still lived in the nineteenth century, and I'm pretty positive that anything too far above the **_ankle_** would be considered scandalous, even by their somewhat lenient standards. Our shoes were simple black heels, since no one would see them anyway. Fingerless gloves were added to the bridesmaids' dress sketch, along with a velvet choker, bows and lace, and a multi-colored pearl headband, but we hadn't even started on the maid of honor's gown yet. We had no idea who she would be, nor did we know who the other maids were, if there were any others. The only suits we'd done were the four for our boys, but there were most likely a few other groomsmen too, and with my luck it would be Ilosovic or someone else with **_ridiculous_** proportions. If that becomes the case, we may have to resort to drastic measures, and cut off his absurdly long legs and arms so that he was the same height as the rest of them. Or, on the other end of the spectrum, if someone short like the Tweedles, or even the March Hare or McTwisp is a groomsman ( _er, animal…_ ) we might have to build them stilts.

And Heaven forbid **_Mallymkun_** be involved. I have **_dolls_** bigger than her that I couldn't sew dresses for if I tried…and I sincerely doubt that I could wrestle her into one anyhow.

"How does that crazy bug think we're gonna finish this if we don't have everyone here?" Amber moaned, "I don't know about **_you_** , but **_I_** can't do measurements without anything to measure."

I shrugged, guarding my pepperoni from the sneaky clutches of my boyfriend, who could've very well gotten his own slice and let mine be, " ** _Excuse_ **you! There's two more boxes over there Luke, so keep your mitts off **_my_ **piece." I playfully snapped my teeth at him, holding the pizza far out of his reach, "I don't know Amber, maybe he thinks we should just wing it and hope it fits. **_Hey_**!" unwittingly, I had held my slice of pie just in front of Maccay, and she'd taken a bite out of it while I wasn't watching. We all burst into laughter, especially after I ripped off the end of her breadstick and wolfed it down before she could react. This resulted in a paper ball war that spanned the entire room, and eventually we decided to take a break from the designing and head downstairs to chill for a bit.

Matt and Sam grabbed the remaining pizza and soda bottles, leaving the empty ones to be thrown away when we returned, while C'Lee lagged behind to organize the drawing utensils into the order of a rainbow in their box. When she was content with her work, she waded through the sea of crushed paper to join us in the hallway. She didn't get past my bathroom door, however, before stopping and cracking it open. Upon sticking her head inside, she motioned for us to be quiet, " ** _Shh_**! Allyson, c'mere, it sounds like someone's in the mirror again. They're tapping on it."

Using my best ninja tiptoeing skills, I silently climbed the stairs again and slipped inside under cover of slight darkness. No person or creature was to be seen when I flipped the light on, but there was a _present_ present. Sitting on the counter inbetween the sinks was a strangely shaped red top hat, with all manner of black and white feathers protruding from the hat band. Holding the black ribbon embroidered with roses in place was a metal heart pin, shaped like the ones on my Halloween costume, and attached to it by a string was a rolled-up piece of parchment. I unraveled the note and read it aloud;

 

_Dear Allyson,_

_Sorry about not getting you the list of the other bridesmaids and groomsmen; that silly Ilosovic was so excited to tell you about the engagement that he ran off without it! You'd think it was him getting married! Ha! At any rate, Tarrant and I just wanted to get you a little something for your birthday coming up, and he did promise you a hat after all. Hope you like it!_

_Sincerely,_

_Soon-to-be Mrs. Alice Hightopp_

_P.s. – the list of measurements is enclosed along with this letter. Absolem did the very last one of the bridesmaids and the flower girl, but gave me no name for either of them. It was rather strange… Have fun with these outfits though! And good luck!_

 

            Sure enough, another roll of parchment fell from beneath the hat when I picked it up, everyone's measurements written neatly under their names. Guess whose names were on each list?

            Ilosovic was the best man. Mallymkun was one of the bridesmaids.

Wonderful. Two impossible things after lunch.

I groaned and read off the rest of the list. Just as Alice's note had mentioned, there were two sets of numbers at the bottom of the page with no name beside them. None of us could figure out who they belonged to, as no one we knew was small enough to match the flower girl, and too many were close to the same size as the mystery bridesmaid. There was one question that had been bugging us that was finally answered, on the other hand…

The maid of honor was me.

 

**_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~_ **

**_Alice_ **

 

"You think she's gotten our gift yet, dear?" Tarrant asked from the balcony of my room in Mirana's castle. His back was to me, but I could hear my fiancé's smile in his voice, "I didn't linger long enough for her to see me, or for me to see her."

"Most likely. It certainly won't go unnoticed." The hat he'd made definitely suited her; it was dark, and odd, but still pretty, "I hope she won't mind being maid of honor…do you think I should've asked her?" while there was no fear that she wasn’t used to standing in front of hundreds of people, I thought she may want a break from it for once.

He stepped back inside, pulling me from my chair to embrace me and whispered quietly, "Of course, love. She's probably running about the house now, screaming to all her friends about it, wondering if they're jealous." He grinned before kissing my forehead.

I giggled, feeling the blush coming to my cheeks, "Hmm, I wonder if any of them are jealous of _me_?" I tilted my head to one side and winked at my future husband.

The Hatter seemed to ponder this for a moment, his eyebrows furrowing thoughtfully, "I don't see why not. Any girl would be jealous of someone with as much muchness as you, not to mention bravery…and _beauty_ of course." Now his cheeks were flushed too, but he was still smiling.

            "That's not what I meant. I wonder if they're jealous that I'm marrying the man of my crazy, mad, wonderful dreams?" kissing him lightly, I laced our fingers together at our sides. Hamish Ascot may not have been the right one for me, but Tarrant Hightopp most definitely **_was_**. There was **_no_** doubt about that at all.

            He struggled to keep a straight face, "Well, in **_that_** case, perhaps _Mayo_ is…" neither of us could stop laughing after that, thinking of the other Wonderland Warrior who'd come and gone from our home for the past few days. She'd been staying with Tarrant during her visits since she was a child, but she was happy to get better acquainted with me as well. She was over the moon upon learning of our engagement, though she wasn't the first of their "band" to find out. The poor thing had burst into tears of joy at one point, and it took several minutes to calm her down.

            As our laughter died down a bit, the whinny of horses could be heard coming across the drawbridge, pulling a coach behind them. That must be the tailor that's come to make my wedding gown and Tarrant's suit…

            I had always thought that I'd have to wear my mother's wedding dress when I got married, but with no way to get her or it down here, I was actually going to get my own. I was also under the impression that my father would walk me down the aisle, but that wouldn't happen either. Though I missed both of my parents and my sister Margaret dearly, this is the life that I have chosen…and if I had the chance to go back, nothing would change. **_This_** is where I belong.

            "Perhaps we should go speak with the seamstress now. I shouldn’t want to delay our wedding **_any_** longer than necessary…" the Hatter led me out of the door, one arm around my waist, to the courtyard.

 

**_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~_ **

**_Ilosovic_ **

 

            I heard the carriage before I saw it, the wheels creaking and the horses' feet clicking against the cobblestone. Dad and I had been out back dueling for most of the morning; there were **_several_** years of training from him that I'd missed, but now we had all the time in the world to catch up on it, and other things too. He told me all about living in Queast, the Diamond queendom, and about how they'd found Zamuel and Rosalynn just a few years ago while they were traveling to Snud. They'd found a small handful of others that had survived in the years after the Horunvendush fire, but despite the fact that most of Tarrant's family had actually made it out alive…there was still no sign of Luna. No one had heard from her or seen her since that day.

            She was really gone. She wasn't coming back.

            Cradling my sore arm, I followed him towards the door of the castle where Tarrant and Alice were emerging, hand in hand as always. How I envied them, how I wish that were me and Luna… It **_could've_** been, someday, if it hadn't been for that blasted Red Queen! If she'd just let me go, let me stay with my family, Luna and I could've been **_happy_** together… we could've gotten married, could've had children of our own eventually.

            But **_no_** , she had to have me all to herself…and if **_she_** couldn't, no one could.

            Still musing about the injustice of it all, I failed to notice when a small body bumped into my leg until the voice that went with it cried out, "Oh! I'm sowwy sir, I didn't see you there…" a little girl with azure eyes and mauve hair gazed up at me from just below my knee. She couldn't have been more than four or five years old.

            "That's alright…say, where'd you come from? I haven't seen you around here before." There had been many children here the night that Alice returned, but few of them were as young as this one was. Christian's son Remy was about the same age, maybe a little older.

            "I just came in with my mummy and sister. Mum's going to make a dress for a lady here." She said, turning towards the carriage that sat in the courtyard. An even smaller girl, barely out of infanthood, stood next to the wheel. She had curly blue hair and bright pink eyes, " ** _My_** name is Madalya, and **_that's_** Ezrabeth. What's yours?" Madalya stuck up her hand as far as she could reach, and I still had to lean down to take it.

            "Ilosovic. So, your mother is the seamstress for Alice's wedding, is she?" I silently watched as the woman descended from the coach with several bags under her arms. She laid most of them at her feet to scoop up her youngest daughter, and to greet the Hatter and his wife-to-be. As she turned, his face suddenly changed and he said something to her, while Alice stood at his side, confused. Madalya's mother jumped, as if she'd been shocked, and then broke into a smile. Clearly they'd recognized each other from somewhere, but I didn't have the slightest clue as to where. Even Alice knew who she was, so she was obviously someone who she'd met when we were children. No one I remembered from Crims or anyone in Marmoreal looked like this; she had lavender hair down to her waist, and silver-grey eyes that shone like sunlight on water.

            It wasn't until she started looking for her eldest child, and our eyes met that I realized who was standing mere feet from me…

            And my heart nearly stopped.

 

**_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~_ **

**_Allyson_ **

 

            After watching almost every movie I owned, several more hours of doodling, goofing off, brainstorming, and polishing off the last slice of pizza, we still hadn't come up with so much as a _sketch_ for my maid of honor dress. Everything we'd come up with looked and/or sounded completely ridiculous, or would've been impossible to recreate with our limited skills. Several times, I had to remind Amber that my dress couldn’t be showy and distracting; _I_ wasn't the one getting married! Upon making such statements, I was promptly met with a paper ball to the forehead, most of which I managed to swat away or throw back. We eventually just redrew the bridesmaids' dress in a lighter blue, and made the fingerless gloves into the sleeves. A few extra bows were tacked on, the choker was changed slightly, and little ribbons were added to the headband. The fun part of actually making my dress, along with the remaining bridesmaids and groomsmen, would have to wait until tomorrow. It was already well past midnight here, and most of us were fighting to stay awake.

            Knowing this would be a possibility, everyone had come prepared to spend the night, bringing overnight bags filled with pajamas and clothes for the next day. Ten toothbrushes were lined up around my sink, each one a different color or brand, in ten cups. Combs and hairbrushes were strewn about the counter as well, along with contacts, retainers and the like. They'd all just moved in, and would just as quickly pack up and move out. At some point, we'd actually contemplated all of us moving into one big house together, and divvying up the bills, but then we realized that the likelihood of finding a single home built for ten or more people would be slim to none. We settled for migrating from one of our homes to another.

            After changing clothes and laying out pallets in the floor of the drawing room for the boys ( _my room wasn't big enough for everyone_ ), I led the girls into the bedroom to figure out our sleeping arrangements. Usually, about four of us could squeeze onto the bed, and the other two would blow up an air mattress; the problem was in the debate of who would get the bed and who wouldn't. Being the generous hostess that I was, I let everybody else get first dibs on the bed, while I claimed my post on the air mattress. A lengthy pillow fight tournament was held to determine who would win this privilege; Amber took the first victory, followed by Maccay, then Mayo, then Lucy. C'Lee was stuck with me.

            We all laid there and chatted for a while, until each of us gradually dropped off to sleep in the wee hours of the morning. Inside jokes were created out of our sleepy delirium that would be forgotten by the time we woke up, and limbs were stretched out over other bodies at angles that could only be achieved during the deepest level of exhaustion.

I was the last to shut my eyes, but they didn't close before noticing something strange…a light from inside my bathroom that hadn't been there earlier. Unfortunately, I didn't have the energy left to pull the covers off and walk over to investigate, so I just rolled over to face C'Lee and drifted into a dream that was filled with lavender roses on silver stems. I thought suddenly of Jack, the Ascots' oldest child, and Rosie's party. And the rose he'd tried to give me before I fell into Underland that day…wasn't it that color?

**_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~_ **

**_Allyson_ **

 

The strangeness really began the following morning when I awoke, feeling a change in the air around me. Something had happened, and I was determined to find out what.

The others felt it too, "Is it just me, or is there something like…like it's hanging over us?" Maccay struggled to put words to what was going on, but she'd done the best out of all of us so far.

Matt nodded, "Do you think something's going on in Underland? Something **_bad_**?"

"We would **_know_ **if it was bad." Lucy disagreed.

" ** _Would_ **we?" C'Lee countered. No one argued that point, not even her sister.

While they were discussing the uneasiness that we'd started our day off with, I was frantically searching the house for the measurements list that I knew I'd laid in my drawing room on the sketching table the night before. I'd gone to get it as soon as I'd rubbed the sleep from my eyes, but it was nowhere to be found.

"Alright, this isn't funny. Who has it?" I huffed, kicking the door shut behind me and startling everyone. There was no other logical explanation than that somebody took and hid it, but even that didn't make much sense, "I'm dead serious. **_Where_ **is it?" tapping my foot impatiently, I waited for somebody to 'fess up.

All nine of them looked at me like I'd sprouted an extra head, "Why would any of us have it? **_You_ **were the last one holding it, Allyson." Sam jumped to the group's defense.

"I **_know_ **that; that's why it ought to be in the same place that I left it. But since it isn't-"

A knock at the mirror stopped me mid-sentence, " _You really need to do something about that temper of yours, y'know."_

"Ilosovic?" a gust of wind from the Portal blew the door open, and his head was clearly visible poking **_out_ **of the mirror… ** _all the way_** out, "What're you doing here? Are you coming through?" everybody crowded around me at the threshold as he walked out of the Looking-Glass and transformed right before our eyes.

Ian Stanley was now standing less than three feet away, or at least that's what it would've looked like to someone outside of our band. Those few within the ' _Warriors_ ' that had doubted my theory that Stayne was in fact our New York booking agent gasped and gawked at each other in sheer disbelief.

I just grinned, "Why, _Mr._ _Stanley_ …how nice of you to drop in!"

He chuckled, "Please, just call me Ian." The Knight of Hearts dug around in his coat pocket and produced a roll of parchment, handing it to me, "I believe this is the sheet you were hunting for, is it not?" it was indeed the measurements, but why in the world did he have it? Something was **_definitely_ **up now…he was smiling too much.

"How did you get this? It wasn't anywhere near a mirror last night!" giving the paper a once-over, nothing seemed to be amiss, but there was still something different about it.

Stayne rocked back on his heels and smirked, "Oh, these fine young gentlemen were kind enough to let me in your drawing room last night to retrieve it. There were some last-minute adjustments that needed to be made."

All of the boys backed up as soon as I turned around, "Oh they _did_ , did they?" in truth, I was mainly concerned that it could've been a demon that had come through instead of a friend, but it also irked me that this hadn't been mentioned until just now. It did explain what the four of them had been laughing about this morning though.

"He told us not to tell you…"

"And you **_listened_ **to him?! What kind of anarchy are you trying to start here?!"

"He gave us tarts if we said that we wouldn't tell you."

Seriously Stayne? **_Tarts_**?

I hoped he had permission to give them away, and made sure to ask him about it. He replied that he did, as a matter of fact, and shot back that I wouldn't be getting any next time he came through either because he didn't like my attitude. Us ragging on each other would have continued for hours on end if Mayo hadn't cut in and inquired as to what kind of changes had been made that required a midnight visit to Overland.

He put on an air of not having the slightest idea of what I was talking about, insisting that I should reread the list to figure it out, and before we could badger him any further, he'd stepped back into the mirror and disappeared.

Doing as I was told, I unraveled the scroll again and carefully inspected every detail for alterations in the document. All of the names and numbers that had been there the day before were as they should've been, but where there had been two blank spaces at the end, there were two names above the measurements. The flower girl's wasn't familiar to any of us, but the mysterious bridesmaid had finally been revealed.

Luna was alive.

 

**_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~_ **

**_Ilosovic_ **

 

"What did she say?" Luna was waiting to greet me on the other side of the Portal in the sewing room. She was busy with Alice's wedding dress at the moment, and Tarrant's ceremonial kilt was already laid out. Her nimble fingers stopped pulling thread and her silver eyes looked up to meet my gaze expectantly.

"Sorry, my ears are still ringing from her screaming with joy. What was that now?"

She shook her head and smiled, "Never mind dear, I got the idea."

"I hope she can pull herself together when she actually sees you in person. Allyson tends to get a little _excited_ sometimes." I warned her, snatching my cape from the closing Portal. Those darn things had a habit of closing just a few seconds too soon, and the end of my cape always managed to get caught in them. I wasn't sure that ' _excited_ ' was a qualified term for what she was sometimes, but it'll have to make do until one that fits better is created.

Luna giggled, returning to her needlework, "I'm sure if she can pull herself together enough to fight a dragon, she can handle meeting me. In case you haven't noticed, I am **_not_** , in fact, a dragon, nor any other beast in need of slaying. Last I checked, I wasn't nearly as intimidating as one either."

"Oh trust me; it's not her being **_shy_** that I'm worried about." It was almost comical how out of character she was when my parents first spoke to her, but that bashfulness didn't last very long at all. Once she warmed up to somebody, it was like she'd known them her whole life.

"So I've heard. Alice was talking about her earlier." A devious grin spread across her face, "She told me how she got you out of Iracebeth's castle."

My face got warm, "The _whole_ story?"

"All the way until she left and Mirana filled in the rest."

I hung my head partially in shame, but mostly to hide the fact that I was laughing at myself; I should've known this was going to get back to her sooner or later. Luna, however, didn't even try to hide her laughter behind her hand, "You know, I thought to myself…you'd think he'd know how to fight off a girl that size after all those years of practice. Didn't I teach you **_anything_** , 'Loci?" That was below the belt…but brutally honest, and she knew it, "Now, if you would be so kind as to not distract me…I have a dress to finish, darling." Her eyes had only once left the needle in her hands, but her progress hadn't slowed an inch.

"Oh, so now I'm **_distracting_**?" I hovered behind her, kneeling down so that we were level with each other. She didn't even turn her head.

"You've **_always_ **been very distracting." My arms wound around her waist, and I let my head rest against her shoulder. She finally stopped working, taking my hands in hers, "I've missed your distractions…"

"I missed you too. I never thought I'd see you again, Luna."

"You almost didn’t. If Allyson hadn't brought you home, and I hadn't been out of town that night…" she paused, with a hitch in her breath, "The Jabberwocky got loose; he burned down the village that I'd been living in with the girls and their father. He died getting them out of our house…and they were left standing in the road, crying for me. Ezzie doesn't remember, but Mady has nightmares still." Luna choked back a sob, and I held her tighter. It killed me that she'd married someone else, that she'd thought I was so lost that she'd never find me again, but it was some consolation that whoever he was, he'd made her happy for a little while. And he'd given her two daughters.

The baby, Ezrabeth, seemed to like me quite a bit. She had even walked to me earlier, and let me pick her up. The eldest girl, Madalya, however, avoided me whenever she could, and wouldn't even speak to her mother when I was around. Luna thought that she was under the impression that I was trying to replace her father, which I wasn't, though I would be more than happy to help Luna with the girls if she needed me to. We'd always talked about having a family together someday, but for years I thought that all hope for that had been turned to ash. Now, even though it wasn't, I wasn't sure that's what she wanted anymore.

"I'm sorry…I'm sorry the only thing I ever gave you was that locket…I just never got the chance to-"

Suddenly, the door on the other end of the room slammed shut, and little feet could be heard dashing down the hall. Mady had been listening the whole time.

I slowly stood, reluctant to leave her side for even a short time, "You should go talk to her…I suppose I'll be going to bed now."

Luna shook her head, "She won't let me come near her. Not tonight. There wouldn't be any point in trying." She picked the remainder of the dress up and started back to sewing, "What ever happened to that chain, I wonder? I know I lost it during the fire…"

Taking a deep breath before answering, I spit it all out as fast as I could and hoped she wouldn't get angry, "Allyson has it. I gave it to her before she left the first time."

She looked up and wiped her tears away, "Oh, that's alright then. I'm glad to know it's not lying in the grass rusting in Witzend…did she like it?"

Inwardly, I breathed a sigh of relief, "She wouldn't take it at first, because she knew it was yours…and who you were…but she wore it when we went to get Alice, and she's worn it quite a few other times."

Luna smiled, just a bit, "She can keep it, since you gave it to her. Besides…it really holds many more painful memories of those days than happy ones. It wouldn't be the same as when you gave it to me." She wasn't wrong about that. The locket had been the last birthday present I'd ever been able to give Luna; everything had gone downhill after that. Horunvendush Day came first, then Iracebeth had her husband killed right in front of me and everyone in the castle of Crims, I almost lost my eye to Thorne and only nicked his. Everyone thought I was either dead or a traitor, **_or_** a dead traitor when I didn't come home after all that mess. Nothing much went my way for a long time.

"Alright, I'll try and find her when she arrives and tell her not to panic about it. She'll have a fit if I don’t…" she was probably going to _anyway_ , but it couldn't hurt to at least attempt to calm her down a little.

As I turned to actually leave this time, Luna called out to me when I was halfway down the hall, "You'd better practice your swordsmanship before she gets here! You don't want any repeat performances, now **_do_** you?"

"Don't you have **_work_** you should be doing?!"

Her laughter followed me down the long corridor to my room, and even after the door was closed, I could hear it still ringing through my head. I have never longed to hear a sound that most people take for granted more than I wanted to hear her voice, to see something that most wouldn't even give a second thought to as much as I wanted to see her face every day. Every day wouldn't be enough really, not even if it were for the rest of my life.

And now, hopefully, that's how long I would have her, however inadequate it may be…


	7. Chapter 6 - In Muchness & In Madness

**_Allyson_ **

 

All the dresses and suits had been put together and hung up in the back of my closet for tomorrow, the day we join everyone in Underland for the wedding. Tony and Sam's makeup and hair products were stored in duffle bags in the bathroom, waiting for their journey through the Looking-Glass too. We'd managed to keep our activities hidden very well from Mama, as she hadn't asked what all the fuss was about the past few days, nor had she inquired what our new attire was for. She assumed it was concert costumes that we were making, and so far that had worked for us. It's not like anyone here would notice us being gone for a few days, thanks to Time for not passing while we're away.

            I wasn't sure what I was more excited about; Alice and Tarrant finally getting married, or the fact that Luna was there now, and that Ilosovic wouldn't be without her anymore. I wondered what she would be like when I met her, and what she looks like now that she's all grown up…what her kids look like.

            We're assuming, since no one's seen or heard anything contrariwise from below, that the flower girl, Madalya, is her daughter. There's no reason that her name would've been hidden if she wasn't related to her, or connected to her at least. The possibility that she has more than one child is very thought-provoking, as well as the question if she's been married or not. Any current marriage is totally out of the question, however, because Stayne most likely would **_not_** have been very chipper when he came through the mirror if that had been the case.

            Which then begs the question, what **_happened_** to her husband?

            Based on the way Ilosovic had described her, it wasn't very likely that she went the Red Queen route and had him beheaded and tossed into a moat, so the only other possibility was that the war the aforementioned queen had started with her sister had claimed him. The Jabberwocky had burned down much of Underland at the start of the hostilities, even going so far as to swoop into the other queen and kingdoms and torch whole villages for no reason. Not that Iracebeth would've cared…

            The only part of that whole situation that I didn't understand was why the other rulers hadn't gotten involved in the dispute, especially since they had all been outright attacked during it. My initial reaction would've been to assemble the biggest army that I could supply with weapons and march on Salazen Grum the first time a single blade of my grass got singed, but perhaps that would've been a bit brash…

            **_Nah_**.

            I shrugged off my imaginary battle plans and took my earphones out, dropping my music device onto the floor. Tossing and turning for several minutes, I tried to get comfortable enough to fall asleep, but the bumpy mattress wasn't aiding very much in that effort. Everybody else had been sleeping soundly since 10 or 11, but I'd made it all the way until 3 am without even dozing off. No matter what I did, sleep would not come to me. I was afraid that all my wiggling would wake C'Lee ( _she lost the pillow war again_ ) and that she'd beat **_me_** with the pillow, but she never budged, nor did any of the girls piled on the bed.

            I sighed inwardly, cursing insomnia and trying to count sheep, but as I lay staring at my ceiling and finding the constellations in my glow-in-the-dark stars, there was a nagging feeling in the back of my mind that something was lurking just out of my peripheral vision. Dark shadows would slink past the corner of my eye, just fast enough to evade my sight, and breezes would blow out of nowhere and ruffle the curtains or the sheets dangling off the mattress. Paranoia soon set in, and I knew that sleep might as well be forgotten.

            However, for once, my nighttime anxiety proved to be somewhat valid, as no sooner had I got my mind to stop racing all over the place, than a **_big, ugly, black spider_** suddenly materialized in the middle of the floor. Its body was the size of a quarter; its eight, needle-like legs were abnormally long and crooked in weird places. Though most spiders I've ever seen have eight eyes, this one only had two, and they bore a striking resemblance to our Halloween party crasher's, burning ruby red and menacing.

            It was hard not to scream bloody murder when it started creeping closer, its legs bending in unnatural ways as it walked. The spider almost seemed to limp, but didn't lean on a particular side, because both sides were uneven. I felt like I'd been sucked into a bad horror flick, and I was about to be the first casualty of the movie. Death by spider bite is **_not_** how I want to go!

            As I searched in vain to find something to squish the monstrous bug with, a voice like nails on a chalkboard hissed out from between the spider's pinchers, " _No Queen cahn save you now, Warriah girl…your butterfly wings will be brokahn like paper-theen glass. There is nowheah you cahn run. Marmoreal will fall sooner than you t'ink…its rock is already crumbling in my web._ " Inky venom dripped from its fangs, staining the white carpet with little black droplets.

            Despite the cryptic threat on the White Queen's domain, I was really more concerned with the possible availability and price of demon spider anti-venom at the nearest hospital. The odds of it being very affordable ( _or even being there at all_ ) didn't look too great, so I figured that Marmoreal would be fine for the time being. In desperation, and for lack of a better weapon, I grabbed my pillow from under my head and cocked my arm back to throw it as hard as I could.

            The spider lunged right as my fingers unclasped from around the pillowcase.

 

**_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~_ **

**_Alice_ **

 

            " _Alice?_ " Mother Rose stirred me from my fitful pre-wedding day sleep. My nerves had been playing up all night, so I didn't get much rest before my big day. This had been the first night since I returned that Tarrant and I hadn't fallen asleep together, and thankfully it would be the last. No matter which way I had lain, it was very uncomfortable without him resting beside me, like there was a giant hole in the bed where the Hatter should've been.

            His mother coaxed me out from under the sheets and handed me my housecoat as we made our way to the washroom, "Come along dear. We'll have you ready in no time, and your little friends from Overland should be here soon." She pushed down the pump and filled the small basin with water. I took a small cloth from the edge of the sink and soaked it for a moment, staring at our reflections in the mirror. In a few hours, Rosalynn would be my mother-in-law, and I would be a member of the Hightopp Clan, just like her and Luna and Zada. I would be married to the right man for me, and I couldn't be any happier.

            She caught me smiling and squeezed my shoulder, "I dreamt of this day since Tarrant was a little boy…when he first met you, he came and told me and his father that he'd found a girl that he liked more than any other girl he knew. He wished that you had stayed then and there, and that he didn't care if you weren't from Underland." She chuckled recalling her son as a child, "We both knew that he'd found the girl he wanted to be with, and we're glad to know that he finally got you back."

            Wringing the cloth out and rubbing the sleep from my face, I smiled broader, thinking of the very first tea party I'd been to with Tarrant, "I'm more than glad to be back with him. There's nothing else like it…" Hamish had been a far cry from my ideal husband, and no other suitor that had come to call after that could quite live up to my expectations. The reason behind that became evident in the moment when I opened my eyes in Underland again…

            None of them were mad enough for me.

Only the Hatter could match my "muchness" with his madness.

"I can imagine. Men that aren't mad in some degree are notoriously bland and unimaginative." Rosalynn took a nearby brush and started attempting to untangle my curls just as Luna and Zada came in, one rolling the mannequin in with my dress on it and the other carrying a basket with my veil and several hairpins to hold it in. Mallymkun, Ezrabeth and Madalya followed close behind; two in dresses and one in a tunic and breeches.

"I guess that's why there was never a dull moment at our family's holiday parties…" Luna concurred with her aunt. Zada only rolled her eyes and smiled.

            Curiosity struck me, "What sort of holidays do you have in Underland? I don't suppose I've ever been here during one…" one could only assume that the Frabjous Day was considered one, but surely there were more than that!

            Luna made a few adjustments to the dress as she spoke, "Well, there's Shunder at the first of the year; that was the first day ever written on the Oraculum. Faldinal was when the Vorpal Sword was made… Weddings and birthdays always have big parties, and war victories too. There are seasonal festivals in each royal domain. Things like that." She finished, both talking and fixing the gown.

            "What about in Overland?" Zada spoke quietly, smoothing out the long veil.

            Christmas came to mind, and New Year's. Easter and Valentine's Day were thought of, as well as Thanksgiving. Another thought appeared to me while I was thinking on the subject; now that Underland is my home; I'll have to adjust to a whole new set of customs and traditions. Of course, Tarrant had enlightened me in the time between today and the day that I arrived, but was I really ready to live here and be a part of all of this?

I shook off the cold feet before they could take hold, reassuring myself that this is what I wanted for sure. Nothing was going to deter me from getting married today! Especially not myself.

"Say, I wonder where your friend Allyson could be? She's supposed to be here by now, isn't she?" Zada observed the younger Overlander's absence. It hadn't really struck me until she made note of it, "Should someone go and fetch her?"

Mother Rose was about to respond when the door swung open and Mirana poked her head in, "Good morning everyone! I trust we're all excited about this afternoon?" she glided in gracefully, as always, and admired the dress.

"So excited that I didn't get a wink of sleep last night." I yawned, thankful that corsets were not a fashion statement down here, otherwise I'm pretty sure I would have cracked a rib just then.

"Tarrant just came out of his room a moment ago and said the same thing." The White Queen stroked my hair gently, "But don't you fret dear, I'm sure you'll both get more rest when you're together again." Her dark eyes were happy, as I'm sure mine were, until she too noticed that one body was missing from the room.

"Have you seen Allyson this morning your highness? She hasn't come in yet."

Mirana looked puzzled, "Why no, I haven't today. Surely she isn't still asleep at this hour…I sent Absolem after her earlier and he hasn't returned." the sky had brightened significantly since I'd awoken, and I assumed that it was also daylight up top by now.

The atmosphere became a little tenser; something just didn't seem right. Allyson didn't seem like the type that would be late to something like a wedding.

"Perhaps we should send someone to check on her and the others…"

"Ilosovic?"

"Good heavens, no! If something did happen to her, he doesn’t need to be the first to see it! Maybe the rest of her band knows where she is."

"No one's seen them either."

It was borderline panic when the door creaked open and Jasmin stepped inside, looking somewhat befuddled herself, "I tell you something…those young "music band" people haven't shown up yet! Not a single one of them has come through a Portal." She looked to any of us for answers to the selfsame problem that we all had. This didn't help to calm things down at all.

"You all wait here; I'll call for McTwisp to see what's going on up there." The Dormouse darted out the door and down the hall, calling out for the White Rabbit as she went.

Mirana ducked into the kitchen for a moment, and reappeared with a tray in hand, balancing several steaming cups of what looked like tea on it. She roused the children and handed them smaller glasses, and offered some to us as well. While the other women promptly began sipping theirs, I held mine in front of me for a moment, "Only if you promise not to tell me what's in this." The White Queen glanced up at me and chuckled, shaking her head.

"Not unless you ask."

After watching her make pishsavler, I don't see that happening at any point from here on out. Sometimes it's better not to know.

Mally squeezed underneath the door part of the way to declare that she'd sent the White Rabbit on his way through a Portal to check up on the remainder of our wedding party, and that he'd be back as fast as he could. Mirana then sent her out to inform the men that there would be a delay in the proceedings…hopefully a slight one.

However, we decided that it would be best to be ready when Allyson and her friends finally arrived, based on the assumption that they would all already be dressed by the time they got here.

When the last drop of her beverage had left her cup, Luna wasted no time in getting my gown on me and then wrestling the rest of the girls into theirs. Mallymkun presented a particular issue when she returned from running errands, being that she didn't wear dresses for a start, and the fact that she was armed with her hatpin the entire time that we were attempting to get one on her. It was no small victory when she was finally dressed, but she had to be threatened to be stuck in a teapot during the ceremony and the reception if she tried to change clothes.

I could tell her from experience that it wasn't a pleasant predicament to be in, so she finally stopped attempting to unbutton her bodice and instead pouted on a pincushion whilst awaiting the Wonderland Warriors entrance. Even through her grumpy veneer, we could tell she was worried about them too, despite any rows she'd had with Allyson.

"I do hope everything is alright with them…" she mumbled, as if someone had doubted that she cared.

"Mum? You don't think that they could've gotten stuck between the Portals, do you?" Mady looked to her mother with concern, mixed with the remnants of drowsiness.

No one answered, fearing that the fate of my fellow Overlanders was much worse than being trapped between worlds. Looking at our faces, one might think that we believed that they'd been taken out of the worlds altogether.

 

**_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~_ **

**_Allyson_ **

 

You know that feeling you get when you dream that you're falling, and then you suddenly jerk awake before you hit the ground? Well imagine that, add a case of heart pounding arachnophobia and waking up in a brightly lit room to ten other people, a rabbit and a butterfly hovering over you. Doesn’t sound too wonderful does it?

Neither did the ear-shattering scream I let out upon opening my eyes to said sight.

" ** _What?!_** What is it? What's going on?"

Matt uncovered his ears and replied, "We've been trying to wake you up for two hours. We thought something was wrong with you 'cause you wouldn't open your eyes."

Luke nearly crushed my ribcage in a hug, which I returned in a state of confusion, "Honey, I'm fine, I swear. I just…I can't really breathe right now…What are you talking about? It hasn't been two hours since we went to bed… ** _has_** it?"

They all nodded, indicating that they were all dressed and ready to leave for the wedding. It was already morning, and late in the morning at that, despite the fact that my body was telling me that it should still be dark out. How it was possible for this to be, I wasn't sure, but one way or another, I was going to get to the bottom of it!

"When the rest of us woke up, you were talking in your sleep and thrashing around." Maccay peered over Matt's shoulder, "You were pouring sweat too." Tony nodded in agreement.

"You almost hit me a few times. That's what woke me up."

"Sorry C'Lee."

Absolem landed on my knee, his wings fluttering slightly, "I was sent to retrieve you all to prepare for the wedding, but you were out cold and nothing any of us did woke you." He informed me, "McTwisp was sent after me, therefore I am assuming that the others have noticed your absence."

A cold chill raced down my spine, sending shivers in waves through my limbs, and I could feel the sweat that coated my skin. Only one thought pulsed through my mind as I was helped to my feet so that I could go and get dressed…

What if I hadn't woken up?

 

**_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~_ **

**_Alice_ **

 

You could tear the tension in the washroom out of the air with your bare hands by the time the White Rabbit bounded through the throne room's Portal with the Warriors and Absolem in tow. I don't think I'd ever been so relieved to see Allyson in all time that I'd known her!

The Butterfly and McTwisp rounded up the four boys, as soon as they were all accounted for, and escorted to them to where the other men waited to begin the procession. Luke, the one with pale green eyes who was courting Allyson, was hesitant to leave her side despite her many attempts to shoo him. Matt finally had to put an arm around his shoulders and pull him out of the room so he wouldn't follow her into the dressing area. She had tried to assure him that nothing was wrong, but the worried look on his face suggested that he didn't fully believe her.

As she turned around, I could see his cause for concern; the poor girl looked like she'd had ten years scared off of her life! Her makeup could scarcely hide the dark rings under her eyes and her paper-white skin. She looked exhausted, but she kept smiling as she trudged over to us with her friends.

"Sorry we're late; my subconscious decided that my personal Dreamland didn't have enough gut-wrenching terror in it, so it attacked me with a freaky spider. I don't guess a bad dream qualifies as ' _fashionably late_ ', does it?"

We embraced for a moment, her drowsiness evident in how lightly she hugged back, "Don't worry about it, I'm just glad you're alright. You all had us worried for a bit there!"

All of them admitted that they were more concerned about us, claiming the nightmare had given them a dreadful feeling that something was going on down here. Apparently Absolem and McTwisp's presence hadn't helped to calm Allyson's terror, and had instead scared her even more, "I thought they had come to tell us there was no way to come back down here or that something else was wrong…it took them forever to convince me otherwise."

"Be glad you were wrong. If the Portal hadn't held up, you'd be stuck with both of them for a while." Mally teased her, after making sure the two creatures under fire weren't within earshot. Allyson shuddered at the thought of Absolem becoming her housemate, and theorized that McTwisp wouldn't be a wise replacement for her alarm clock. We all concurred.

As the laughing subsided, the grandfather clock in the hallway chimed; the signal that it was time to head for the carriage that would carry the party to the altar.

Much to my surprise, the Dormouse asked me to carry her to the carriage rather than scampering after the rest of the procession, insisting that she wanted to speak with me on the way to the wedding. She stepped into the palm of my hand as I held it out to her and then perched herself on my shoulder, her tiny paws resting against my bare skin. Had the front of my veil been down, she would've been underneath it.

"Alice?" she began quietly, for the first time that I knew of, "I'm sorry about how I behaved towards you last time. I reckon I was just jealous…since the Hatter liked you so much an' all." Her eyes were averted to the seat below me, only connecting with mine briefly.

"Oh Mally, there's no need to apologize! I'm not mad at all."

She glanced up skeptically, a grin forming on her muzzle, "You sure about that? You do know you're marrying the **_Mad_** Hatter, don't you?" she chuckled.

Returning her smile, I winked, "Well, perhaps in **_that_** sense I am a little bonkers."

"Totally barmy?"

"Completely of my rocker."

Satisfied, she crisscrossed her legs under the skirt as the wagon started out of the courtyard ( _a gesture most improper by Overland standards; not that I cared_.) and nodded matter-of-factly, "Good. If you weren't, you'd really be getting yourself into something."

Just as I was forming a response, a scene up ahead of the buggy stopped me short of speaking…on either side of the road, what seemed like a hundred women and girls dressed in furs and pelts stood, watching us intently as we approached. Their skin was different shades of copper, aside from the black spirals that wound around their arms and bare bellies. Some of the older ones had them around their eyes too, with little loops and curlicues curving down their cheeks or across their foreheads. They were a strange and beautiful sight, like much of the rest of this land, and I wasn't sure what to say.

Luckily for my tied tongue, their leader, with tattoos covering so much of her skin that there was almost none of her natural tone left, spoke to break the stunned silence, "Hello your majesty, I trust dat everyt'ing is well dis morning?" her dress was different from the others, as it appeared to be made of cloth rather than the skin of some animal or bird. She wore a crown that seemed to stem from one of her marks; dark and curling into ringlets atop her head. Her grey eyes studied the traveling party.

"Ah, there you are Allura! I was beginning to wonder where we'd find you." The White Queen greeted the mysterious woman happily, and then turned to beckon to me, "Alice, this is the Witch Queen of the Outlands. Allura, this is Alice, the girl from Overland I told you about in the letter."

Allura bowed her head in greeting to me, a kind smile stretching across her lips, "We meet at last, Warriah."

As usual, I was astounded by how quickly news traveled down here, "You've heard of me? About the Frabjous Day?"

She nodded, "Mirana's dominion was not de only one to suffah from her sista's rule…we ahre all greeatful to you for slaying dat terrible creacha." Her grin widened once more, "It's too bad dat you 'ad to return home so soon; you missed quite a bit of celebration…in all de kingdoms, and in our clan."

"I wanted to stay then…" I sighed heavily, "but I had some things to take care of."

"Dat is undahstandable, Alice. One must finish one quest before beginning anotha." She motioned for some of her fellow Outlanders to assign themselves to a carriage in our caravan, "Speaking of which, we'd bettah get ahn wit' dis one. De Hatter is expecting you, dear."

Allura turned and took a place in front of the horses on my carriage, walking only a few steps ahead of their hooves, her cane dragging through the dirt and leaving what looked like droplets of pastel colored water in her path. Little sparks flew from the drops like fireworks.

"What _is_ that, Mirana?" Allyson leaned over the rails to watch the little curlicues spread across the ground and vanish in little puffs of smoke. The other Outlanders were leaving the little marks as well, though in their cases the drops were coming from beads that wound around their arms and ankles rather than canes.

"It's magic…for protection and good fortune. 'Tis traditional for the Tribe to be present at weddings to bless the ceremony." The White Queen replied, smoothing her dress, "Allura's brother will be the one to read you your vows, Alice, as he is one of the few who have the power to perform the binding spell." She went on to elaborate that Absolem could've done it, but with the activity around the Portals prior to my arrival still not completely resolved, he didn't want to risk leaving them in someone else's hands should something else come up. Though he would be present at the ceremony, his magical power would be focused elsewhere.

            "His _mind_ probably will be too." Allyson remarked, "He's giving up smoking for the occasion. You should feel special Alice, that only happens in events of extreme importance." She winked.

            And despite her joking tone, I really did feel a twinge of pride that he'd ( _briefly_ ) given all of us a respite from that horrid smoke just for my wedding. He must like me more than I thought…

 

**_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~_ **

**** **_Ilosovic_ **

 

            " _Tarrant_ _Hightopp_ , if you don't leave that tie alone, Luna will wring your neck with it! If she sees one hair out of place on you **_or_ **Alice we'll have to stall the whole wedding; _cut_ _it_ _out_!" for the millionth time since we arrived in New Witzend, a village built only a mile from the original town, I scolded the Hatter for picking at his clothes. First it had been the hem of his kilt, and then he readjusted his hat so many times before taking it off that I lost count, now he was tightening and loosening his tie repeatedly. His father had threatened to **_sit_** on him to make him stop, but he hadn't registered the warning.

            Christian and I shared the concern that he was going to wear out the soles of his shoes pacing back and forth in front of the seating area. The rest of us were standing around in the general area we needed to be in for the ceremony or, in my case, lounging in the front row, while he flattened the grass.

            "I'm sorry I…I'm just nervous is all…"

            "About **_what_**? If something is dumb enough to come anywhere **_near_ **here with the Outlanders hanging about, then it's not going to get a very warm welcome." Zamuel tried to reassured his son, but to no avail. He started worrying at his cuff links.

            "Not about demons and whatnot **_here_** …just…I-"

            "Surely you can't mean _Alice_ is what you're worried about?!" our group passed incredulous glances to each other and to the groom-to-be, but his eyes fell to the ground.

            "Worried something will happen to her before she gets here…" he muttered, "We don't know what we're up against; who knows if the Outlanders can handle what we've set on their shoulders?"

            Though he wasn't wrong there, I saw no reason to fret so terribly over it this close to the ceremony. There would literally be thousands of the magically-endowed tribesmen and women surrounding the meadow, so surely all of their combined powers would keep us safe from anything or anybody that had the foolish notion to try and crash this wedding.

            Danzia's hulking presence behind the altar was the most reassuring aspect, as his sheer size would be enough to deter anything with good sense, not to mention King Braden's additional strength and King Sunyi's knowledge of the combative arts. Christian was a highly-trained monster wrangler in Nidaria, which would also come in handy. Tarrant and Zamuel could both take care of themselves, as could my father. Luke had brought up the topic of swordplay at some point or other; he could handle a weapon should he need to. Matt had mentioned his recent victory in a wrestling match at their school ( _I didn’t know they had things like that at **schools** of all places…Overland certainly is strange…_). Sam said he was a rather good shot with a bow, and Tony promised that he would stay out of the way if battle ensued. I would've added Elias to that line up, but Allyson's " _you're joking, right?_ " face popped into my head when the thought occurred to me, due to the fact that Eli was in fact, still a child ( _Mome Rath slaying aside_ ). Remy, I discovered, was easily spooked, so he was out too.

            We aren't relying on Thorne for anything. I was shocked he even bothered to show up.

            I really wish he hadn't. He was such a pain…thankfully, he was too busy harassing some of the Outlanders –though they weren't really giving him much of a reaction- to notice the rest of us.

            On the other hand, he wasn't absorbed enough in troubling them to be deaf to the distant shrieks that suddenly rang in our ears, though he wasn't in the number that raced from the dais to investigate.

 

**_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~_ **

**_Allyson_ **

 

            It had happened so quickly that I almost didn't have time to react; the sky overhead darkened, the air got heavy and cold, and a dead silence swept around us. The Outlanders started yelling out in their native language ( _remember Tarrant's foulmouthedness in my previous misadventure?_ ) and balls of multicolored light formed in their palms. By the time my hand gripped one of the weapons concealed in the carriage, one of the younger girls had shot down a bird-like creature that landed on the other side of the buggy with a stomach-turning liquid sound. It soon dissolved into a black puddle that singed the grass and trees that it touched, and a sharp, bitter smell wafted to us on the chilling wind.

            Amid the chaos of the skirmish, Allura and a younger girl leapt onto the driver's seat of the wagon and cracked the reigns, jolting us forward. Other Outlanders followed suit, taking over the ones behind us. Those that didn't commandeer a vehicle were left to fend off our attackers, and were doing a **_great_** job the last time I turned to watch.

            The rest of us were too stunned and afraid to do much of anything but cower in our seats.

            Fortunately, we didn't have much further to go before we reached the site, and the rest of the Outlanders ran out to greet us before long. While they sailed by in a tattooed mass without a second glance, the boys that belonged to us swarmed around their wives, sisters, mothers, and daughters, and as soon as we were behind the line of warriors, they practically grabbed us out of the carriages and pulled us into the protected clearing. A shield had been placed around the new village to prevent tragedies like the Horunvendush Day, but that didn't seem to discourage the few demons that successfully swooped past the small army of light-wielding witches and shamans.

I almost started laughing when the first one smacked into the invisible wall, splattering like a bug on a windshield. However, all humor ceased when cracks became visible and their ungodly wailing pierced the buffer as more of them slammed into its surface.

"They're…they're trying to break through it…" Ilosovic breathed.

"What're we gonna do? We can't fight those things!" C'Lee held a saber shakily, the tip of the sword dragging the ground. Lucy couldn't steady her sister's hand for her own shivering so violently.

"No need." A voice that rumbled like thunder said from behind us, just as a brilliant beam of light shot over us and spread into a dome, instantly repelling any remaining monsters and melting those that couldn't escape. We whirled around to be faced with the Shaman King looming over us, his enormous hand still glowing from the spell he cast. Someone's sword clattered to the ground as we stared in awe of our rescuer, though no one looked to see whose it was.

The shield faded from our vision, though in reality it did not disappear, and no more demons attempted to penetrate it. And after a few tense moments, the last of the creatures were struck down just out of sight of the meadow, and the war party returned victorious…though most of them were covered in black goop that smelled like bleach mixed with salt & vinegar chips and peroxide.

"We didn't lose any of ours, brodah. Dese werh not powahful bein's…" Allura had quickly counted heads, though I don't see how that was possible with their numbers.

"But dey ahre cahntrolled by one…creacha's like dis do not act on deir own." Danzia noted a gelatinous pile around the rim of the shield, "After dis ceremony, we must find whoeva is responsible."

"Agreed."

The two of them then turned to the other Underlanders and the rest of us, and informed everyone that the wedding would soon commence.

 

**_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~_ **

**** **_Allyson_ **

 

After all the hubbub finally died down, all the dresses were smoothed out and the tuxes were rebuttoned properly, we pried Tarrant and Alice apart just long enough to get him to the other end of the aisle with his mother and the Shaman King and Witch Queen.

The groomsmen and bridesmaids fell in line like soldiers behind Ilosovic and me as we marched to meet them, taking our respective places on the left or right of the altar. Although I knew we weren't the main focus of attention today, I was still trembling slightly when eyes fell on me from the crowd. This was the first wedding I had been old enough to remember being in; all others I had attended had been when I was very small, and I was nervous that my smile looked fake, or that I wasn't in-step with Stayne, or that-

" _Allyson, relax. You're doing just fine._ " Absolem fluttered by on his way to his seat behind where Danzia and Allura stood. Being Guardian of the Oraculum got you "floor seats", if you will, to things like the biggest wedding anyone had seen in centuries.

I silently thanked him, and then turned frontwards to get a better look at Alice's dress. There was a collective intake of breath when everyone's jaw dropped to the ground; the shimmering train extended a good three feet behind her in a silver waterfall, her bodice hugged her tightly like the suit of armor it was modeled after, and her veil was held in place by a bejeweled tiara in the shape of a butterfly ( _I'm sure Absolem loved that bit._ )

" _Whoa_ …" I sighed, " _her gown is amazing_ …"

" _Thank you. It took hours to sew_."

            Turning to my right, I saw who the voice belonged to. It was one I had been hearing off and on all afternoon, but hadn't seen the face that it was connected to until just now, though she needn't any introduction. I must admit the bridesmaid dress that I had sewn for her fit better than I had thought, given that we didn't have a chance to get together and make personal adjustments. But judging by her tailoring on the wedding dress, I was pretty confident that she didn't need my help with that…

            " _If I thought it wouldn't have been too much trouble, I would've let you do ours too. At least maybe they would've matched hers_ …"

            Luna smiled, " _Nonsense, your dresses are wonderful. I adore these gloves you made too._ " Actually, Amber had made the accessories, both those that were attached to the dresses and those that weren't. Her hands were smaller than mine were ( _which is saying a lot; my hands are tiny_ ) so the little details were easier for her to handle.

            " _Thanks. What do you think about the suits?_ " I nudged her with my elbow and cut my eyes over to Ilosovic, who was completely oblivious to the two of us. Since gawking at Stayne was more for her benefit, I gazed past him to Luke, who winked and smiled back.

            " _Very handsome indeed._ "

            We giggled behind our hands until Zamuel and Alice stopped a few feet away, and the ceremony officially began. Ilosovic overheard our snickering, but any comeback he had formulated was cut off by Danzia's voice resounding all around us. He was spared anymore "girl talk" by this and this alone.

            "Who gives dis womahn awey to be wed?" his golden eyes scanned over the bride-to-be and her father in law, taking in all the happiness radiating off of them.

            "I do, in her father's stead." Zamuel passed her off to his son, who was more than eager to have Alice at his side again after our minor calamity between here and Marmoreal. Her smile faltered a bit at the mention of her father, but the sadness was gone as quickly as it came when she stood next to the Hatter.

            Mr. Hightopp walked briskly to his seat where Rosalynn was waiting, alongside Alexander and Jasmin. Tarrant's mother and father beamed proudly at their only child, while Ilosovic's parents made facial expressions towards theirs that suggested that they thought he should be next in line for engagement. His cheeks flushed bright pink when he caught Luna batting her eyelashes at him, and his eyes narrowed at my innocent smirk. He was outnumbered and he knew it.

            Anyhow, back to the matter at hand…

            Danzia reached back to a small table and unfolded what looked like a navy blue blanket, revealing the Vorpal Sword. His thick hands encircled the hilt as he placed it in between the bride and groom, "Alice, place your 'ands on de handle." He instructed her, only leaving his finger touching the sword to keep it upright.

            The second her skin connected with the sword, the same sparks the Outlanders had been firing off encircled her, forming one half of an arch above her and wrapping themselves around her arms and the blade. A few people in the crowd jumped back from the flash, but most only shielded their eyes against its brightness. Alice herself marveled at the pastel colored lights.

"Tarrant, place your 'ands on hers."

His hands wrapped around her fingers, sending a shower of sparks around him that completed the arch that encircled the two. The ribbons of light around their arms and the sword began to swirl and intertwine, drawing them closer together as the Outlands' king released his grip on the Vorpal Sword.

"If anybody 'ere objects to dis wedding, speak now before de vows ahre read." Allura, who had been standing on the other side of them, said. Everyone silently held their breath, waiting for someone to pipe up and say something. An objection to this marriage would almost definitely cause riots in the streets!

After an incredibly long and tense silence, the Shaman King continued with the ceremony, "Very well." He turned to Tarrant, "Do you swear on dis blessed sword that you take dis womahn to be your wife? Dat you will love her and no otha as long as you live? No matter what befalls you or her?"

He looked at the priest like he'd just asked him if his last name was Hightopp, but he answered nonetheless, "Of course I do."

Danzia nodded, and one of the Tweedles approached with a pillow, bearing one ring, "Take her left 'and, and remove de engagement ring. Replace it wit’ de wedding band."

As he removed the bejeweled ring from her finger and replaced it with a silver one in the image of a dragon clutching a blue gem, the swirls of lights on his side converged on the new ring and seemed to vanish inside of it as it settled against her skin. None appeared above him to replace them, and hers remained as they were.

"Now Alice, do **_you_** swear on this blessed sword that you will take dis mahn as your 'usband? Dat you will love 'im and no otha as long as you live? No matter what befalls you or 'im?" Allura read her vows.

With a single tear of joy rolling down her cheek, Alice smiled, "Yes, I do."

"Take 'is right 'and, and remove 'is engagement ring. Replace it wit’ de wedding band."

The second Tweedle came forth, carrying another ring that resembled a bronze sword encrusted with jade. Alice's lights followed the ring as she slipped it onto his hand, significantly dimming the intensity of the light in the clearing. It was much easier to see them now, and to see in general.

At last, the priest and priestess spoke the words that everyone had been waiting for in unison, "By de powah of de Vorpal Blade, ye be wed! You may kiss de bride now, Hattah."

They didn't have to tell him twice.

 

**_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~_ **

**_Allyson_ **

 

            The reception lasted well into the evening, with much dancing, plenty of food, and not to mention the gifts the newlyweds got!

Each kingdom or queendom presented the couple with presents; Mirana gave them the Vorpal Sword ( _since_ _there were no more Jabberwockies afoot_ ), Queen Rubi had two cloaks made that were pretty-much-anything-proof and could camouflage themselves if need be ( _and were **incredibly** soft on the inside_), King Braden got sort of carried away…he gave them both a pair of beautiful horses and **_all_** kinds of furniture ( _Tarrant's place **was** a bachelor pad, after all. It needed a more lady-friendly touch here and there…_) and King Sunyi hand-picked their carriage himself, and had his own servants pack their luggage for the honeymoon. The Outlanders had sent a party out to their house to bless it with charms and spells to keep any demons out and to expel any already present. Danzia and Allura individually presented them with two medallions, as is apparently traditional, for good luck and prosperity in their new life.

            Tarrant's family also pitched in with gifts of their own; Luna sewed Alice a sun dress to match her bathing suit, Zamuel ( _being a hatter himself_ ) gave her a hat to keep the sun off her head while they were swimming in the Frill River or taking an afternoon stroll, Rosalynn made a patchwork quilt out of swatches of fabric that everyone had contributed ( _the Wonderland Warriors' collective patch was black with rainbow music notes on it, so it kind of stuck out from the others…_ ) and Christian had been generous enough to provide the actual cabin for their honeymoon. It was a little cottage that he and Zada had vacationed in for many summers, and they thought it was perfect for a romantic rendezvous. Tarrant and Alice seemed to agree.

            My gift would come later, as soon as I got all the pictures from my camera onto my laptop and printed them out for the scrapbook I was planning to make. I wanted Alice and the Hatter to remember this day in as vivid of detail as possible, and the best way to insure that they would was by photographically preserving it and adding frilly stickers to the pages. Mind you I had to turn the flash off so as not to startle anyone…I doubted that she wanted any bewildered party guests in her wedding album. Or, in my case, any that looked like they were about to collapse from having too much fun.

After about the sixth quadrille of the night, I couldn't feel my legs properly and decided to find myself a tree to relax under for a while. The trunk wasn't too knobby or rough, so I reclined against it and watched the festivities while trying to hold my eyes open. Sleep was fast-approaching, but I didn't want to tear the others away from the party to go home just yet.

This was the best we had all felt since Halloween, and that was quite some time ago.

Just as I was about to relent and "rest my eyes", a voice popped into my ears from my left side, "Mind if I join you?" Luna spread her skirt onto the ground around her and leaned against the other side of the tree.

"As long as you keep me from nodding off…how are you not half asleep?" I yawned.

"Living in Snud as long as I have has prepared me for parties like this. Sunyi is known for dances and galas that last for weeks at a time, and he invites the entire kingdom to all of them." Her silver eyes showed no trace of exhaustion, her smile was no less bright than it was at the beginning of the ceremony.

The King of Clubs sauntered by a few feet away, chatting energetically with Queen Rubi, who looked as though she was about to fall over. He didn't seem like much of a party animal at first glance, but seeing as how only he and the residents of his realm were able to continue dancing like it was going out of style after nearly nine hours, I guess my hypothesis was incorrect…

"Maybe if I hadn't eaten so much I'd be able to stay standing for more than five minutes at a time." I chuckled, patting my belly. More food had piled into my stomach than on the night Alice returned; it was filled to bursting nearly.

"Possibly. Say, isn't that Uncle Zam over there-" she stopped mid-sentence, her mouth gaping open, "He got into the ale again." She groaned.

Searching the crowd for the father of the groom, my eyes fell on Mr. Hightopp attempting to scale the maypole for some reason, and loudly proclaiming that "That bloody White Knave couldn't touch the top of it if he tried!"

Judging by the slightly amused look on Alexander's face, Zamuel was referring to him rather than Ilosovic, who was standing at the base of the pole shaking his head and laughing alongside his father. It was hard to tell if one of them had instigated this situation or if they were innocent bystanders, but Mother Rose didn't care either way. She was scolding all three at the same time and doing her best to coax her husband back down, neither of said actions bringing about any noticeable changes.

"Should we go help?"

Luna scoffed, "What good would that do? If he won't come down for her, he won't listen to either of us."

Now Tarrant was trying to persuade his father to come down, which also was accomplishing nothing. Christian threatened to cut the thing down if Zamuel didn't return his feet to the soil, which only stirred up a torrent of Outlandish from the older Hightopp.

Fortunately, the majority of the young children had been sent into the houses to sleep until it was time to leave, so none of them heard the string of profanity. Any of the older ones that did were told that if they repeated so much as one word of that sentence that they would have their mouths washed out… ** _vigorously_**.

"They may have to call the soldiers to get him off of it."

"I don't suppose a King or a Queen would do the trick?"

"Not likely, but _somebody_ needs to before the pole breaks."

I was beginning to wonder if we needed to fetch the Bandersnatch to push the beam over enough where someone could grab him, but suddenly Alice was standing beneath her father-in-law, and he seemed to be listening intently to what she was saying. She beckoned for him to come down to her, as she and Tarrant were preparing to leave for their house for the night, so that they could tell him goodbye.

After contemplating this for a moment, he slowly began his descent, and landed somewhat unsteadily in front of her. Everyone around the pole breathed a sigh of relief, while everyone else who had been watching looked on in disbelief.

"Hmm, she **_is_ **rather resourceful, isn't she? _Clever_ little thing." Thorne suddenly appeared to my right, twirling a glass of the notorious Nidarian ale between his fingers.

"Do you have some kind of tracking device on me or something? Can't you go hassle somebody else for a change?" I cut my eyes at the Knight to find him grinning down at me deviously.

"I beg your pardon, dear girl, I didn't mean to intrude but…Absolem wanted to tell you that he spoke with Stayne, and he mentioned that necklace to him that you wanted checked out and he's gone to get it." He stated his business and then produced another cup of ale from behind his back, "Care for a drink?"

"You keep hanging around and you might drive me to it."

 "Suit yourself." He set the drink on the ground beside me and continued, "He also said he should be back before you all leave, but that he might go home through a different Glass, so if he doesn't see you before you return to Overland he bids you good night and fairfarren, Allyson." The way my name crawled from his mouth made me shiver.

"Well if he wanted to tell me all this, why didn't he tell me himself? Or why didn't Ilosovic come tell me?"

Thorne began to amble away, walking backwards as he spoke, "He was in a terrible hurry to get there and back, so he didn't have time to speak with you at the moment. Stayne couldn't find you earlier, so I took it upon myself to relay the message if I saw you first." He sneered before turning away and disappearing into the crowd, "Good night, ladies."

Luna looked like she wanted to spit on him just for speaking to us, "I do wish that man would take a long walk off a short pier." She snarled.

"I'd prefer it if he took a flying leap."

She stood and helped me to my feet, and we began flouncing over to the rest of our friends together, "Wait, you aren't going to drink that, are you?" we paused momentarily, eyeing the goblet of green liquid Thorne had given me. I took it into my hand and tipped it over, spilling its contents into the grass.

"Drink what?" I said. She nodded. We pressed on.

Neither of us noticed the wilting grass as we were leaving.

 

**_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~_ **

**_Allyson_ **

 

"Thank you for having us, Alice. The wedding was beautiful!" I had managed to round up the Warriors a little before midnight so we could congratulate the newlyweds and get home before the Sun came up. However, we had been in the process of leaving for nearly thirty minutes…

"I'm so happy you all could make it!" we hugged tightly, at which time she whispered, " _Don't forget to invite me to yours someday._ "

My face was flushed when I pulled away, but we were both smiling, "You'll be one of the first to know." We bid each other adieu, but before I dragged my fellow band members through the Portal into my bathroom, I tugged Ilosovic aside as though I was telling him goodbye, "Hey, did you talk to Absolem earlier? About the necklace?" I asked him in a low voice so that the others wouldn't overhear.

His eyebrows knitted together in confusion and he nodded slowly like he didn't understand the question, "I've been trying to find you all night to tell you that. How'd you find out?"

Rolling my eyes, I grabbed Stayne by the elbow and tugged him down to my level, " _Thorne_ apparently overheard you and he came and told me about it. **_Please_ **tell me you two weren't talking about anything **_else_** important. I don't want that know-it-all to actually know it all."

He shook his head vigorously, "No, not at all. I saw Thorne right after I said that and I clammed up until he left. It didn't dawn on me that he would've heard that…" he ran his fingers through his hair, releasing some of it from the ribbon that had tied it back all day.

"Alright, as long as his nosy ears didn't hear anything else that was none of his business…has Absolem come back yet?" I had it in my right mind to tell the Butterfly about a certain someone's eavesdropping problem, and to make a suggestion as to a solution.

He shrugged, "He told me that he'd be going back to the Mushroom Forest when he did."

"Ok…just wanted to make sure Thorne wasn't trying to pull something on me." We rejoined the group at the entrance to the Portal into Overland, "That crazy nut tried to give me something to drink too; can you _believe_ him?!" I added, almost as an afterthought, as I hugged him around the neck and snickered.

"You didn't drink any, did you?"

"You're _joking_ right? Even if it were **_you_ **with that look on your face, I wouldn't have drunk any!"

We both laughed, embracing one last time. My only wish was that time didn't pass so strangely between our worlds; I missed so many things while I was at home. It was nearly impossible to not worry about whether I'd see some of these people again…especially nowadays….

"Bye guys! Stay in touch!" we all called out as McTwisp guided us through the Looking-Glass, hand-in-hand ( _or hand-in-paw, in Matt's case, since he was up front_ ). The Underlanders waved back with hands, hats and handkerchiefs, their worried eyes watching us disappear into the mirror.

They feared for us just like we feared for them.

 

**_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~_ **

**_Allyson_ **

 

And we all had reason to be afraid of the shadows, scared of the dark, terrified of unknown beings that go bump in the night, and even more so of the ones that were brazen enough to come out during the daylight.

But the simple term _'fear'_ did not quite cover the pure horror that washed over us when we opened the door into my bedroom. No word in any dictionary could, if I were to be honest.

The room was a wreck, as though a malicious tornado had spawned in its center and torn everything from the walls and shelves. Not one thing was intact.

Except, that is, for those few objects that lay in the middle of the floor.

My hat that Tarrant made for me, Ilosovic's black and red cape, a deck of cards ( _save for the Jack of Diamonds and the Queen of Hearts, which I found on my vanity side by side, covered in black eyeliner streaks_ ) and a picture of the band were all neatly arranged in a circle, untouched by whatever had destroyed my room.

In the center of the ring sat a baby doll with black hair and brilliant red eyes. Her dress was solid grey; no lace, no buttons, no puffy sleeves. She was as white as paper, and her lips, turned up in an almost skeletal grin, were almost as scarlet as her irises.

I screamed at the top of my lungs and fainted after my eyes took in another sight, and didn't remember what I saw afterwards, but when I asked everyone else what I saw that made me black out, all they would tell me was that Absolem was laying in the doll's lap.

When she thought no one was listening, Amber added more details to the scene that I almost wish she'd left out. She immediately apologized for even bringing it up when I started crying and fell against the wall, but I didn’t hear it. All I could hear was the nightmare-spider's warning ringing in my ears…

His wings were broken and he wasn't moving.


	8. Chapter 7 - Unexpected Circumstances

**_Allyson_ **

 

Any of the other Warriors can tell you that I'm not overly physically affectionate; I am reasonably friendly and not at all offended by hugs or anything of that nature, but I'm not going to attach myself to you like a Siamese twin or tackle you, no matter how much I love you.

            However, when Matt told me that Chessur told him that Absolem was alive and well and that he had actually retrieved the necklace –albeit this was three months after the incident in my room– I nearly took that poor boy to the ground, and would've done the same to the Cat had he been present.

            That night, for the first time since we'd returned from the wedding, I was pulled into my usual dream in the Mushroom Forest, and I greeted the Butterfly with the same enthusiasm that I had received the news of his safe return to Underland. I had always been told not to touch butterflies back home because it would mess up their wings, but somehow I doubted that rule applied to him…most others don't seem to.

            He was equally glad to know that the and the rest of the band and I made it home, and was also as confused as we were about the state my bedroom had been in when we arrived, "It boggles my mind…I didn't detect any traces of demon activity within the necklace, and there wasn't anything in your room while I was there. Surely no one you know would've done that while you were gone?" as he handed the locket back to me, memories from the wedding night flashed through my mind against my will.

            "More like nobody _could've_. That creepy doll disappeared by the time I came to, and my room fixed itself before everyone's eyes." The very thought of that night made me shudder, "None of us are magicians, Absolem. We can't make things disappear and reappear at the snap of our fingers. And if cleaning my room was that easy all the time, I don't know what I'd do with myself on Saturdays."

            "Yes, that would be too much free time for any good to come of it."

            Normally, I would've objected to a statement like that, despite its truthfulness, but under the circumstances I was more than glad to hear his smart-alec remarks. His snide comments were proof to me that he was still there and that he was alright.

That I was alright.

That we were all alright.

            That maybe everything was going to be alright after all.

            I could sense that dawn was nearly breaking at home, as I was beginning to get sleepy again, but before I could tell him goodbye, Absolem stopped me, "I'm sure you know that more time has passed here than it has in Overland since your last visit, correct?"

            "Well yeah, that's how it usually is…"

            He smiled and puffed from his hookah, a welcome sight for once, "Hmm, by the time you come back tomorrow, it should be the right time here…"

            My eyebrows knitted together in confusion, "What on Earth are you talking about? And no beating around the bush either!" though adding that warning after asking that particular question never did any good in the past, for some reason, tonight it worked.

            "Why, the baby of course…"

            "Whose bab-" then it hit me, " ** _Alice and the Hatter are having a baby_**?!"

            Absolem looked away like I hadn't said anything to him, but he failed to hide the grin that tugged at his lips, "I've been dying to tell you, but I haven't had the chance…"

            Making a mental note to myself to scold Chessur for not telling Matt to tell me, I practically knocked the Butterfly off of all his tiny little feet with the hug this time, and then proceeded to literally bounce around on the mushrooms to get all of the excitement out.

            "When's it coming? What's it gonna be? How many is she having? Do they have names picked out yet? Do I need to babysit when it comes?" a flurry of questions bubbled up and spilled out so fast it's a wonder he knew what I was saying. Thoughts raced through my head of what to get for the baby or babies, whichever the case may be, and how long I would get to see them as a baby. One visit they could be newborns, and the next they might be almost grown, the way Time works down here!

            Hopefully that won't be the case…I always liked babies better than people my age.

            "I don't have the foggiest idea; nothing has appeared on the Oraculum yet. You'll have to tell me when you get back from the Outlands tomorrow."

 

**_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~_ **

**** **_Allyson_ **

 

            Even though it was mid-February by our calendars, the sun would be bright and merciless in the Outlands, so I insisted that we all wear sunscreen so we wouldn't come home looking like a bunch of lobsters. Mayo didn't see the point –she would get sunburnt anyway because she was as white as a ghost– but lathered it on nonetheless. Amber moaned that she would break out in freckles like her brother if she stayed out in the sunlight too long; which, by her standards, would not be very becoming.

            I tried to tell them most of our bodies would be covered, except for below our knees and elbows and around our eyes, so it wasn't the end of the world, but they couldn't be told anything.

            Luke, Matt, Sam, and Tony were ten times worse, because they weren't allowed to go to the "baby shower", if you will… They would be getting some male bonding time with the Underlander boys.

            "If you get bored down there, you can always ask Absolem to let you all come crash at my place and play video games or watch a movie." I tried to cheer Luke up by waving an Xbox game at him, but he was unresponsive, "It'd be an… ** _experience_** … for them at least…" the image of the lot of them piled on my couch watching _Godzilla_ or _X-Men_ and eating popcorn was highly amusing, but I tried to contain my giggling until it was a girls-only affair. Boys are very sensitive to teasing, you know.

            "What's Chess supposed to do then?" Matt mumbled, "Wouldn't he be a normal cat up here? I don't think Roxi would take too kindly to him."

            "Or the March Hare."

            "Or McTwisp."

            I sighed dejectedly, shaking my head and pulling my sash tighter on the dress Allura had sent for me to wear, "In case you all have forgotten, McTwisp's alternate form for long trips is Jack Ascot, and I'm fairly certain that the Hare is another dog, so I don't think she'll really care. As for Chessur, he's smart, he'll figure something out."

            All four of them poked their lips out at us in a collective pout that fell on blind eyes. We were too preoccupied by the sight of Mirana emerging from the mirror in the bathroom…again.

            "You girls ready to go?" she beamed, paying no mind to the brooding going on behind us.

            We eagerly nodded and raced to form a line to enter the Portal, but not without bidding the guys _adieu_ , of course. They all waved back somberly, as if we were completely abandoning them forever.

            Being sympathetic by nature, the White Queen finally acknowledged the quartet of Johnny Rainclouds and told them to fret not, that we wouldn't be gone for more than a few hours, and someone would be along shortly to retrieve them. They smiled halfheartedly and went back to their moping in the meantime, "Pitiful…Heaven help them when their future brides are expecting." She scolded them under her breath jokingly, "They won't know how to handle it."

            Maccay snickered, along with the rest of us, "I can only imagine."

            "Oh please, they'll be sobbing in the floor." C'Lee chuckled, and Lucy agreed.

            Before we could get another jab in, Tony remarked that we shouldn't talk like they couldn't hear us and that if we were so tired of looking at their sad little faces that we should go on and leave.

            So we took his advice, much to his disdain.

 

**_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~_ **

**_Allyson_ **

 

            Stayne and the others were in even worse shape when we came through. They looked like kids that had their candy stolen from them by a playground bully.

            "Why the long face? Missing Thorne, are we?" I teased, relieved myself that the Knight of Diamonds was clear on the other side of Underland.

            Ilosovic cracked a grin, "As soon as he got out of my sight. I can't throw a sword as well as I can a spear, you know." This comment roused quite a bit of laughter from the otherwise sullen assemblage of Hightopps and the two Staynes. Mirana only rolled her eyes.

            "You should work on that then." Mayo suggested, "Just in case he shows up sometime soon." He assured her he would work on it while we were gone today, as he hadn't much else to do.

            "If **_he_** doesn't, then **_I_** will. That man is a menace." Christian grumbled, "Meanest thing that's ever breathed; I'd swear on it." Everyone nodded in agreement; there was no disputing that.

            The White Queen halted any further debasement of Thorne's " _character_ " by ushering us out the other door and recommending that the younger of the two present Knights get started on his target practice promptly upon arrival in New Witzend if he wanted to improve.

            We all boarded a carriage once we reached the courtyard, one that was already occupied by the Hightopp women –except Alice, that is; we were going to pick her up– and Mrs. Stayne, while the men traipsed to the stables to get their horses. They were escorting us as far as the village, and then leaving us in Queen Allura's care.

            "How ever did you manage to pry yourselves loose?" Luna asked when I sat beside her. Unfortunately for Ilosovic, we'd begun to bond over the few visits we've had with one another, and now he has nowhere to run when one of us gets after him.

            "T'was a miracle from above."

            "They're going to spend all day with ours talking about us, I just know it." Amber remarked, "Call it a gut feeling."

            "Can you imagine the dirty looks we’ll get when we come home?" Lucy asked.

            "I hope they don't dish them out if they can't take one themselves." Jasmin warned loud enough for them to overhear her all the way across the yard.

            "You'd think they were missing a big party or something!"

            I scoffed, watching them mount the horses and trot out ahead of us, "I doubt they'll be missing much of anything; maternity stuff was notoriously boring last time I checked. What could possibly happen?"

            I would later eat those words quick, fast, and in a hurry.

 

**_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~_ **

**_Allyson_ **

 

            As we drew nearer to the newlyweds' home, beyond the rows of unscorched trees and freshly painted cottages, I could make out their figures against the backdrop of their odd little house. It had obviously been built onto, made apparent by what appeared to be a room jutting out rather precariously, and diagonally, from the top left-hand corner of the roof. One could only pray that wasn't meant to be the nursery…

            Luna called out to Alice while I was busy shaking that image out of my head, and she hobbled out the door to meet us, "I'll be back again before you know it. I love you Tarrant." they kissed goodbye as Mirana dismounted from her steed.

"Be careful lassie, I love yeh too." The Hatter waved and disappeared inside the house.

The White Queen stood by the buggy to help the mother-to-be into it, "Why Alice, you're positively glowing! Are you excited?" she was beaming as if she was expecting!

"Oh yes, I just wish the little one would hurry along…" she hoisted herself into the wagon, "Mummy can't handle this much more. I can barely move!"

Mother Rose inched over so she could sit beside her, "It's always like that with your first. By the time you have another it'll be a little easier." She smiled, no doubt imagining her first grandchild…who it would look like, who it would act like, "Unless, of course you get one like your husband was. Then I doubt there will be another one."

"Why's that?"                                       

Rosalynn and Jasmin exchanged knowing smiles, "If you'd been there the whole time our sons were children, you'd know why they don't have any siblings." Stayne's mother giggled.

Allura, who had shown up out of the blue, also found this comical, "If I had known dat dey would hahve been dat much trouble, I would hahve wahned you. Some t'ings ahre not apparent dat early."

"The trouble with mine was that height of his. By the time he was a year old he could open all the doors in the house by himself and get outside if we weren't careful!" Jasmin went on, "And I've never seen a child climb on things like he did! He was in the cabinets, on the furniture; everywhere he wasn't supposed to be."

Luna laughed, eager to be in on teasing him, "And he grew so quickly, what fit him one day was too short on him the next! I don’t see how you kept clothes on him, Jasmin."

She shook her head, "Sometimes I wonder…"

Tarrant's mother decided that her boy needed to be ousted too, "Tarrant was the very devil to catch when it was time to come in for a bath; he would hide from us and no one but Christian or Ilosovic could ever find him on their own."

Zada nodded, "And the three of them were as thick as thieves, so you know they wouldn't rat him out unless it was on pain of death."

"Or getting grounded."

"Oh honestly, what would've been the difference?" as we laughed at their expense ( _and without them being there to defend themselves, no less!_ ) Alice jumped in her seat like someone had scared her, "Oh! The baby's is kicking! Feel it; just there!" Rosalynn's hand hovered over the spot where its foot had just been, and she chortled happily when she felt it move again.

Luna's hand landed on the opposite side of her stomach than where the baby's feet were, but suddenly she jumped and exclaimed that something had bumped her hand too. A look of surprise passed from each face to the next, especially Alice's, until all eyes were on Allura to see her reaction.

Her tan face was calm, still almost, as she leaned forward in her seat to place her hands where the others had been, one on either side. Her grey eyes closed tightly. The black marks across her skin seemed to writhe like snakes, though they weren't really moving at all. Little lights danced from her fingertips and disappeared under her skin.

Allura smiled quietly when the last of them fizzled out, and looked up at Alice through her thick eyelashes, "Well, Alice, you may be expecting more dan you 'ad expected…"

 

**_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~_ **

**_Alice_ **

****

My nerves were buzzing with anticipation by the time we reached the settlement; what had she meant by what she said while we were in the coach? Did she mean I was having more children than I expected? Was there something about them that would be unexpected? What did she mean?

Those of us that came from beyond the Outlands' borders whispered excitedly about her cryptic observation until the Witch Queen shushed us and began the ceremony, "Hannavas, Dejánea, mark dem for protectshan. We must not be intahrupted…" she held out two bowls of what looked like ink to two young girls; one was small and pudgy with amber colored eyes and jet-black hair, and the other was tall and lean with white irises and tawny blonde hair. They each took a dish and dabbed their middle fingers in the liquid before sticking them in the middle of our foreheads and underneath our eyes.

I was beginning to wonder what good that would do against the likes of what had been attacking us everywhere we went until Allura spoke up again, "Dese marks are made frahm de same ink as our marks; dey will protect you from hahm. As will dese beads dat we weah."

From thin air, she materialized strings of the same pastel beads that every tribeswoman wore, and the girls put them around our necks, wrists, and waists. It took both girls to get the one around me, as they both had to conjure more for it to fit. They giggled betwixt themselves when they were finished, and the littlest one, Dejánea, briefly touched her fingers to my belly. As she drew them away, little butterflies made of golden smoke flew around me. She grinned sheepishly when Allura scolded her for messing about with her magic, but her smile didn't dim one bit. The Queen sent the girls away –their part was done – and the butterflies followed them.

"Silly t'ings…" Allura sighed, "Now, Alice, you must hold still until I tell you othawise. If you do not, it will not werk."

I nodded, and the next thing I knew her walking stick was pressed into my forehead where the marks had been drawn, the white stone that was tied to it warm against my skin. The copper ribbons tickled my nose.

Energy suddenly surged from the staff into me, radiating out to every limb and to the tip of every hair and raising goose-bumps up and down my arms. The sound of heartbeat filled my ears moments later, loud and clear as if it were right next to my head. I peered up at the Witch Queen.

"Dat is yowah 'eartbeat." She stated. Everyone else's eyes widened; apparently they could hear it too.

Another, softer, one soon accompanied mine at the same tempo, "Is that the baby's?"

Allura held up her finger to pause me, and another, slightly faster heartbeat appeared.

" _Twins_?" Luna's mouth gaped open at the sound of three pulses thrumming through her ears. Mother Rose covered her mouth to stifle a gasp, while Allyson and her friends, Jasmin and Zada smiled. Mirana clapped in delight.

The Witch Queen nodded, "A girl and a boy…both destined for great things. Dey will defeat dis great evil dat hangs over de lands, and bring peace to Undaland. Dey will 'ave unlikely allies and evahn unlikelier enemies, so be ceearful who dey befriend as dey grow." Her grey eyes narrowed as she scanned over the party gathered around me as though she was searching for the enemies she had warned me about. She didn't see any, so she carried on, "A wahr is coming, Alice, and your children will win it."

"War?" Mirana's smile fell as worry clouded her features, "With whom?"

"De demons and deir mastah will wage battle against us all, but only two can destroy dem; Alice and Tarrant's first-born children."

My heart skipping beats was audible to everyone around me, and I'm sure that theirs were pounding right along with it. It was the Jabberwocky all over again, only worse…this time they would grow up being expected to be fierce, demon-slaying warriors whether they want to be or not, rather than being unexpectedly dropped into the situation.

Allura seemed to notice my concern, as she turned and knelt down before me, "Dis wahr is many yea's frahm now. Dey will 'ave plenty of time to be children, and plenty of time to prepare fo' deir battle. Do not feah fo' dem, Alice, feah fo' deir enemies."

This gave me little solace, and I knew that Tarrant would be terribly disappointed that he wasn't here to hear this news himself.

 

**_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~_ **

**_Ilosovic_ **

 

" ** _Twins?!_** " Tarrant echoed Alice for the seventh time since she'd told him. He'd passed out the second time she said it, and had scarcely recovered from that when she repeated it. He didn't quite know what to make of the situation, demonstrated by the bewildered look on his face.

"Mercy me! Our first grandbaby is a…well it's…there's two of 'em!" Zamuel was equally befuddled as his own son. However, unlike Tarrant, he'd managed to stay on his feet the whole time.

Mother Rose was positively sunny, "That's right dearie, and that means twice the spoiling from Grandmum and Grandpa." She winked at the expectant mother, who smiled back knowingly. That seemed to be an age-old tradition in both worlds; the kids could get away with anything with their grandparents.

Luna giggled and wrapped her arms around mine, "Aw, just think darling…that means twice the ' _Uncle 'Loci, can you get those cookies in that jar down for me? I can't reach them._ ' "

When I tried to deny her accusations, Allyson started after me, "Those two will have you wrapped around their little fingers! Don't even act like they won't, Mr. Pushover. If I can talk you into my schemes, you don’t stand a chance against two little ones." 

I rolled my eyes and poked Luna in the ribs to tickle her, "Like you'll be any better Allyson! And **_your_** fingers'll fall off from making them so many toys and clothes!" she tried to wriggle away, but my arms were longer than she was quick, "They'll have to build on **_another_** room at the house for all of it if **_both_** of you make them!"

"Will _not_!" she protested through laughing and batting my hand away, "They can keep some at my house, Allyson can keep some of hers, some can stay at Mother Rose's, some can go with Christian and Zada, and some will be in Marmoreal. That way it won't get crowded."

The White Queen had just finished removing the black ink from the Outlands from her face in the washroom when this point in the conversation arose, and decided to throw her two cents in on the matter from the doorway, "Well in that case, I suppose we need to clean out the East Wing then. If they'll be wanting for a toy room, they'll need the biggest one we can spare!" we all laughed when she excused herself to inform her servants to start cleaning now and actually left for the castle. She told us before they pulled away that she would send word when the rooms ( _yes, rooms, **plural**_ ) were done.

Luna was dumbstruck…she had only been kidding. She and Allyson threw questioning looks at one another.

"Huh…I suppose I'd best get to work as well then. Have to have the rooms stocked up before the little rascals get here!"

Alice moved to get up, but thought better of it and remained seated, "Now Lu, you don't have to get started just yet…it'll be awhile before they start playing with anything! That goes for you too, Ally."

Allyson giggled, casting her eyes at her other friends, "It won't be just me you'll have to worry about going overboard. Mayo is all about some baby stuff…and she'll be with the two of you more than I will, I would imagine."

Mayo rolled her eyes and looked about as if she hadn't the foggiest idea what she was saying, but her guilty grin gave her away. She claimed that she would buy the children a few books and things like that, but Maccay denied this even more vehemently than their band leader had.

Iracebeth's former visitor accused Tarrant's of saying the same thing about their birthday and Christmas presents, and then going and "buying the whole store; lock, stock, and barrel", as she put it.

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean. I barely spend any money on gifts!" she tried to defend herself, but the others had joined the fray on the side against her. I'm sure some of them were guilty of it as well, but she had the courtesy to not call them out on it.

Luke, ever the levelheaded one, eventually got them all calmed down, and advised them that they should be heading home if anybody was going to go overboard with any kind of gifts at all. When they had finally simmered down enough, they bade us all goodbye and linked hands to walk through the Portal together. Mirana had left one to Overland open, despite everyone's initial safety concerns, so that the rest of us wouldn't attempt to create one on our own, even though Allyson was learning how to do it under Absolem's supervision. Even she admitted she wasn't ready for a Portal strong enough to let every one of them through in a row; multiple small ones would be too exhausting, and there was no guarantee that they would all end up in the right place.

She was the last one to cross through the Looking-Glass, and as she set one foot inside, she turned around and grinned at me deviously, as she was wont to do quite often, "In the meantime, you need to be practicing your ' _It wasn't me, it was the kids!_ ' look, and any and all excuses you can formulate to accompany it." And before I could formulate a response to that, she waved and melted into the mirror with the rest of her cohorts.

My father shook his head and chuckled, "Somehow I don't believe you'll be the only one who will need to work on that, son."

Everyone laughed, especially Tarrant, Alice, and myself, as we knew what he was alluding to more than he did himself, "Oh, I **_know_** I won't be. The guilty dog always yaps first." I nodded toward the slowly closing Looking-Glass. That girl was something else…

"Well, it looks like I have my work cut out for me…we'd best be going so I can get an early start in the morning. I'm sure the girls will want to help out too." Luna began gathering up her skirts and heading for the door, so that she could call the girls in from the yard and start home.

Alice and the Hatter's house was just outside the village, while Luna's was closer to the town center, "Fairfarren all, we'll be at home if you need us!" she waved as she departed, but when I noticed that night was falling, I decided it would be best if I escorted the three of them home. My imagination was having a field day conjuring up images of what could be lurking in the shadows.

I called out for her just as the door began to close, so she reached back to hold it open, "Let me walk you back…it's awfully dark out here tonight…" In truth, it was no darker than it had been any time before now, but she didn't seem to mind either way.

"What? You're not afraid that some terrible monster will come and take me off, are you?" she linked one arm through mine, and held Ezzie with the other. Madalya skipped ahead of us a few steps. She still hadn't warmed to me yet…

"Tch, not likely dear. I fear for whatever beast runs across you by itself."

Ezzie giggled at the face her mother made, then cut her rosy eyes up at me and smiled. When she did, two little pearly whites peeked out from between her parted lips, which surprised me; I didn't think she was old enough to have started cutting teeth yet. Then again, I'm not exactly what you would call a "baby expert".

"Say Luna, how long have those been there?"

"Hmm? Oh, her teeth?" as if on cue, the baby grinned again, and the white crescents were even more visible, "They started coming in a few days ago. You just noticed them?" if her own smile was any indication of what her daughters' would be like when they grew up, we would have to post a guard ( _myself of course)_ 24/7 to keep the boys beaten back until they came of age to be courted…you know…around thirty years or so from now.

Maybe…

            "Yeah, I guess I haven't been paying attention, have I?" I shrugged sheepishly, and then a thought occurred to me, "Can you imagine if Chess had kittens, what their teeth would be like?" it almost made me shudder to think of smaller versions of his cheeky smile. T'was a very unsettling idea.

            "Well I would imagine that they would look like this, wouldn't you?" a girl's voice from the boughs over our heads made me jump and whip my dagger out of its scabbard. For a split second, I was afraid it was another demon…

            Until a pair of aquamarine eyes materialized on a low-hanging branch, followed by violet stripes and a pink bow.

            "Or perhaps," a boy's voice, just below where her head rested, said, "like this?" purple eyes hovered on the other side of the branch, accompanied by an upside-down smile and teal stripes.

            Upon catching my breath, I sheathed the blade and pulled Luna back to my side, "I really need to get hold of my imagination…or we're going to have all kinds of things running amok around here." I turned to the juvenile Cheshire Cats to address them, but they, in their breed's trademark fashion, had vanished.

            "But Sir Stayne, surely you don't believe you have imagined us?" the female cooed, reappearing not a foot in front of us and nearly giving me a heart attack.

            "We are far from imaginary…" the male purred from her left. Were it not for his eyes, he would be an exact copy of his father, "We're nearer to New Witzend than we are to imaginary."

            Madalya had stopped dead in her tracks to stare up at the kittens I had seemingly produced out of thin air, "Who are you? I've never seen you two before." She asked boldly.

            They both grinned down at her, and wound their smoky bodies round and round her head as they spoke in unison, "Reshy and Felicity." They said simply, "And not many people **_have_** seen us…vapor is sometimes hard to view with the naked eye, you know."

            "Oh." Mady seemed satisfied with that answer and nodded in reply.

I, on the other hand, had a few questions of my own, "Where did you come from?"

"Marmoreal. Pop's waiting there for us." Reshy answered, "He sent us to visit the Hightopps and tell them where he's been."

Chessur **_had_** gone on a hiatus without telling anyone his whereabouts…he had gotten us all pretty worried –even Tarrant, despite their past differences, was concerned – but I doubted that the sudden appearance of his children was the sole reason for his lengthiest vanishing act.

"He's been hunting the demons with Absolem." Felicity added, "In case you were wondering."

Luna switched the side she was holding the baby on and glanced up at the Kittens, "What about your mother? Where is she?"

"Never knew her…she quite literally vanished." Felicity piped up matter-of-factly.

"She just up and left you?" Mady whirled around in disbelief, "That's awful!"

"Not really," Reshy kept up his ear-to-ear grin, "Pop's doing just fine on his own…he's had us since we were very tiny. He had to teach us how to evaporate all by himself." He added proudly. Judging by his tone, that was a monumental task usually reserved for more than one adult Cat.

Mady was placated by this remark, and once again turned around to continue down the path. She bade the Kittens fairfarren and skipped just out of sight, but we could still see the top of her hat over the hill…or I could at least. They returned her goodbye, waving their paws as she flounced away.

When they were satisfied that they had introduced themselves thoroughly enough ( _and after apologizing for scaring me half to death_ ), Reshy and Felicity floated into the night to call on Alice and Tarrant and to bring them the news of their father' adventures with Absolem. Luna, Ezzie and I had to trot rather briskly to keep up with Mady; she had gotten farther ahead than I had thought.

After several minutes, we reached the clearing just above the village and Luna's shop front was within sight. Her house lay just behind the dress store, as it had when they lived in Snud, and her oldest daughter was already standing at the door waiting.

"Are you sure you'll be alright going back by yourself?" she asked as we neared the door.

I slipped my arm around her shoulders, "I'm not going all the way to the Hatter's just to have to turn around and come right back. Mom and Dad said I could stay with them for tonight, so I'll just ride back to Marmoreal in the morning."

She unlocked the door and handed her youngest child to her sister, sending them both to bed with two kisses each. Ezzie drowsily waved goodbye from Mady's arms, then made the mistake of closing her eyes; she was sound asleep before the door closed, "So you'll be just down the road if a big, bad, beastie gets after me then, will you?" Luna grinned up at me, taking my hands in hers.

"Only if I get goodnight kisses too. I will settle for no less."

She rolled her eyes, the silver in them reflecting the moonlight, "We aren't jealous, are we?" she scolded me, but gave in to my "demands" nonetheless. It didn't seem like she minded it very much either, "Goodnight 'Loci…"

"G'night Lu."

Luna leaned against the wall as I ambled down the pathway to my parents' house. It wasn't until I passed where the maypole once stood – now replaced by a black lamp post – that she disappeared inside the house and blew out the lanterns and candles that lit the windows from within.

For one split second, I felt my longing to be in that house with her pulling me back, my heart wistfully wishing that goodnight didn't mean goodbye too, but that feeling was abruptly interrupted by the feeling of something swooping down and attacking me from above. A crow…or a raven…some kind of black bird…had shot from between two houses and skimmed over the top of my head, taking some hair with it in its claws. I had tried to at least hit the creature with my dagger, but by the time I had swung at it, it was already out of reach and nearly invisible against the night sky. The only indication I had of its presence was the hoarse _caw caw caw_ ringing through the air as it wheeled away.

Annoyed by the disruption of my walk home, and worried that the beast had grazed me, I felt the tingling spot where it had snatched the strands of hair out and checked for blood. There was a cut, no doubt, because it stung when I touched it, but it was superficial and would most likely be healed by morning. I thought nothing more of it when I entered the safety of the house, and the incident did not delay my sleeping as it did my stroll through town.

No, it would not disturb my sleep until many years later, when I would finally realize that it had not been a bird at all.

It was a demon following orders.

 

**_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~_ **

 

Somewhere, deep in the heart of the Outlands, beyond even the Gryphon's oasis, two hooded figures stood before a Portal, awaiting the arrival of a third. The figure in the tattered cloak was getting anxious, and it showed in her voice, "I thought he said it would only take a few minutes to get it?! What's taking so long?" she didn't bother to whisper; no one was there but the two of them.

The second figure, Drina the Black Witch, turned sharply, her red eyes flashing in the cold moonlight, and opened her mouth to retort, but stopped when she heard the flutter of her minion's wings. Her snarl formed a wicked smile as the "bird" alighted on her outstretched hand and relinquished its trophy, "Well done, mah pet." She stroked its inky feathers before whispering a spell that sent the spirit back into the onyx stone at the end of her staff. The sorceress turned to her antsy companion, "Give 'im time. 'e 'as to find de right one."

"I was under the impression he already had. At least that's what he told me."

Drina rolled her eyes, wondering bemusedly what had possessed her to do this in the first place, working with these two barmy fools to exact revenge on every kingdom in Underland including the other Outlanders, revenge for something that they had done to themselves. Then she laughed heartily to herself.

Nothing can possess a witch. She was doing this out of boredom.

Just then, the Looking-Glass rippled and the figure of a man emerged, holding a small bundle in his arms. He was out of breath like he'd been running, but his features were calm, almost arrogant. Then again, he always looked like that.

"What was the hold up?!" the first woman demanded, reaching out for the object of his mission, "I thought you said you had this handled beforehand?" she examined the contents of the bundle; the wait was well worth it, but she was irritated that there had been a wait in the first place.

"It's not my fault you're so particular. If what you wanted hadn't been so specific, I would've been back ages ago, but no. It had to be nearly an exact replica-"

"Hush!" Drina silenced them both, claiming the wad of blankets for herself, "Give it to me; I will bring it bahk when it is ready. De next one must be taekahn in a few years…"

" ** _Years_**?! Why years?!"

"So I won't have to go back up there any time soon." The man grumbled.

"We must not draw too much attenshan to dis Portal. We must wait for de plan to be saksessful." The witch warned them, "If we ahre caught, dis will all 'ave been for not'ing."

Relenting, the other woman crossed her arms and huffed, "How will you reach me when you're done? I don't think that you'd like to walk all the way there."

As he walked away to mount his horse, the man turned around chuckling and answered for Drina, "How do the Overlanders say it…? I believe it's the uh…the stork'll bring it to you!" he laughed a little too hard at his own joke, "I hope you've got a good first name picked out for him! He's going to need it with that last name of his!" he roared, being the only one of the three that found that much humor in the situation, "Glad I got to come to the shower and all! Congratulations!" the two women watched him gallop away, scarcely able to stay in the saddle for all his snorting.

"I'm starting to think he's enjoying this more than I am."

Drina inspected the child herself, and was happy with her partner's results, " 'e probably will. 'e will get to see everyt'ing firs'and. We will only see de afta'math."

There was a deep silence between them, and then the witch vanished with the child in a plume of red smoke.


	9. Chapter 8 - A Very Merry Unbirthday

**_Allyson_ **

****

February 28th, 2015 was a highly unimpressive, cold, and blustery day up until about 1 in the afternoon, Overland Time. All ten of us were holed up at Matt's house, either splayed out over the couches and recliners or sprawled in the floor in a nest of blankets, and three-quarters of us were still asleep ( _Matt and Luke were awake and playing on the Wii U, and I was trying to get them to be quiet so I could go back to sleep_ ) until the four following events occurred.

First and foremost, we heard a violent knocking sound down the hall that was coming from the bathroom. Luke nearly dropped the game pad.

Secondly, those of us that were up immediately speed-tiptoed to Matt's room to search for viable weaponry for a potential skirmish. All we found were two matching katanas and a baseball bat, which we hypothesized would not hold up against what we thought was trying to enter Overland via the Portal in his restroom, but decided would have to do in a pinch like this.

Thirdly, we crept quietly ( _I don't say silently because the floorboards creaked_ _every other step_ ) down the hallway towards the origin of the noise. Matt lead the way and Luke shoved me to the back of our line to "keep me safe". For some peculiar reason, he didn't believe me when I insisted that if I could handle a Jabberwocky at the tender age of fourteen that I could handle whatever this was now that I was eighteen. He completely ignored my protests, and we pressed on.

The fourth and final thing that happened was Stayne – or his alias, Ian Stanley, rather – bursting through the door and nearly getting impaled for his trouble. Luckily, before there was any stabbing, the three of us recognized him and lowered our arms. However, he didn't manage to dodge my ear-boxing. He's never been very good at that, regardless of whose world we were in.

"For the love of-! You nearly gave us heart attacks Ilosovic! Ian! Whichever! You can't just bust up in here like that!" I hissed, trying not to awaken those that were still sleeping, since this turned out to be a false alarm, "That is an **_excellent_** way to get clobbered-"

He recovered quickly from almost getting stabbed and cut me off before I could continue haranguing him for his latest poor decisions, "Mirana sent me to get you since Absolem and McTwisp were busy at the moment. The babies are coming and we were sure you all didn't want to miss them…"

It took a few seconds for the lights to come on in my head, but when they did, I practically threw the bat to Luke and sprinted back down the hallway. The three of them called after me, but I didn't stop; I didn't even turn around.

The second I set foot into the den, I started shaking whoever I laid my hands on, demanding that they get their sorry carcasses out of bed and to get up.

Sam woke up in slow-motion, jerking up at first, then slowly stretching out and opening his eyes. C'Lee took a swing at me in her sleep – an odd habit of hers we discovered during a sleepover in the 5th grade – but woke up when I grabbed hold of her hand. Amber rolled herself up in her blanket like a burrito and refused to come out until Tony groggily threatened to throw her in the pool outside…I knew she was awake when she replied that she would take him down with her.

"What are you yelling about?" Maccay yawned and rubbed her eyes, pushing her hair out of her face. Mayo rolled over and groaned into her pillow.

"Ian" appeared in the doorway with Matt and Luke in tow, "Afternoon everyone…I trust that your wake-up call was pleasant?" he snickered.

Lucy frowned drowsily at him, "I think her sense of humor is rubbing off on you…you two are starting to sound alike…like a pair of mismatched Tweedles or something…" she jabbed her thumb at me.

"Gee, thanks Luc."

" ** _Anyway_**...the babies will be here anytime now-" He didn't even get the sentence finished before they all sprang up and started scurrying around to get dressed, "Well, that was quicker than I thought…" he muttered. As soon as we were at least decent, we turned the tables on him and started rushing him back toward the Portal from whence he came, trailing behind like a flock of ducklings after their mother.

Had he been his normal size he would've been harder to "persuade" down the hallway, but now that he was only half a foot taller than us instead of a foot and a half, he was far easier to maneuver, "Alright! Alright! No need to shove! I'm just as anxious to get back as you are to get there!" poor Stayne tried to dig his heels into the hardwood floor to slow us down, but his shoes ( _they looked like the ones he wore in Shanghai actually, now that I think about it…_ ) had very poor traction. It took him quite a few minutes to get us settled down enough to link up and climb through the Mirror, and even then we were going way too fast and somebody stumbled.

We practically fell through the Glass into the White Queen's throne room, where she was standing with her hands clasped in front of her. Us piling up in the floor one on top of the other startled her, but she didn't have time to be surprised…or at least that's how she was acting when she realized it was just us. Once we had untangled ourselves and dusted imaginary dirt off of our clothes – our "dream" clothes, not the ones we had arrived in – she was herding us out the door and into a carriage, "Come, come! We mustn't dawdle! Hurry along now." Mirana was fanning her hands at us, like she was trying to shoo a bug. We trotted ahead of her and Ilosovic, who was dressed more casually now than he was when he came through the Portal, and Mally and Romy and Aurora.

I was trying not to trip over my dress while simultaneously ignoring how cold the marble floor was on my bare feet when I noticed Luke, Tony, Sam, and Amber's outfits for the first time. They hadn't really described them in detail to me, so I was curious as to what they normally wore down here.

Luke wasn't really dressed for sitting on the beach in my opinion, aside from his lack of shoes; he had on a green poet's shirt and brown pants that looked pretty thick. When I asked him about it, he claimed it never really got very hot around his companions, but that the pants were rather troublesome if he tried to go swimming. Amber was wearing a simple red hoodie with a gold skirt and black platform boots, while Tony's was forest green and his pants were grey. His boots were slightly –only slightly – shorter than his sister's, and they were brown. Sam's get-up reminded me vaguely of a purple bathrobe with a silver vest underneath. He insisted that it was, in fact, a kimono, and that it was also very manly.

The others thought it was hilarious though; Mayo was so distracted trying to find something to function as a shower cap or curlers that the White Queen had to snap at her to get into the buggy before it left without her.

            As she was climbing in, somewhat sullenly from getting bossed about, Ilosovic passed by and slipped something into her hand, which I later discovered was a twig from one of the pink-flowered willow trees that he had stripped of all the foliage. It was the perfect size to snap into pieces and stick into his already existing curls, even though it still had little knobs from where the leaves had once sprung out of it. While she put the twigs to good use, I was too busy rolling my eyes and mouthing, " _Thanks a lot…_ " to Stayne, who only grinned and shrugged, to hear what Sam was muttering at her clearly.

            Just as he'd begun to raise his voice to make his threats –or insults, I wasn't entirely sure – more audible, the Hatter and Alice's house came into view through the trees. All us Overlanders fell silent and braced ourselves at the doors of the coach, ready to jump out and run inside as soon as the wheels stopped turning and whoever was in front of us was out of our way.

            We had scarcely come to a halt when Luna ran out, her lilac hair flying behind her like a waving flag, and pulled me, Mayo and Mirana out of the buggy, insisting that she needed the Queen and that Alice had requested the two of us. Both of us swelled with pride and raced each other to the door without a glance backward.

            In hindsight…I kinda wished we'd saved our energy…we sure needed it…

 

**_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~_ **

**_Tarrant_ **

 

            Hours had passed since the Warriors and the residents of Marmoreal had arrived, and still no definite word on the state of my dear Alice or the children had come through the door of our room. Everyone who was helping to deliver had come out at least once on an errand for warm water and more towels, but none of them knew how much longer it would be, not even the White Queen with her seemingly endless knowledge of the rituals and potions and other whatnot involved in bringing forth children. It was driving me mad –madd ** _er_** , I should say – having to wait and wonder all this time!

            I knew the others must've been growing anxious as well; the tension from the parlor was so strong that I could feel it all the way down the hall…but maybe that was just me…I couldn't really be sure. I was so nervous and excited and jittery that my head was beginning to swim from dizziness. Perhaps that's what I get for pacing back and forth for so long…I probably need to sit down for a bit. But I can't possibly step away! What if something happens and they can't find me in time?!

            The door bursting open behind me stopped that train of thought in its tracks, and Mayo breathlessly hopping about was further distraction, "Hatter! Hatter! Go tell everyone they're almost here! Go go go!" she pointed emphatically at the door, her eyes wide and darting. She certainly was an excitable little thing…

            "Oh! Yes! Right! Of course!" I paused briefly, turning on my heel, "How is she doing, by the way? Alice?"

"Fine, fine. She's doing great!" and without further explanation, she disappeared once more. It was obvious to me that she wasn't trying to hide Alice's true condition with her dismissiveness – she was trying to keep herself from bursting into tears of joy, from the looks of it – so I didn't attempt to pursue her.

I instead raced into the parlor, startling everyone in the process, and began trying to formulate the words I needed into a sentence or two, "The…she said that…they're…nearly almost…how'd she put it now?"

Everyone's heads snapped up, and Ezrabeth jolted awake in Ilosovic's arms, "What? What is it?" they all chorused at once. The band members followed me anxiously with their eyes.

The words finally came, and with them, my tones and hues returned, "The babies! They're coming! Mayo said they're almost here!" now I was hopping around ecstatically as my head began to wrap around this concept.

I was about to become a father.

There was an enthusiastic round of congratulatory cheering for several minutes, and it almost lapsed into clapping until another noise reverberated through the room and we all fell silent. It was a shrill sound that started softly, and then rose in volume and pitch until it was a full-blown wail. Shortly afterward, there was a second howl to match the first, only it was slightly lower and not quite as long-winded.

Every face in that room was smiling when we realized that it was the babies crying.

They were here at last…

I was on the brink of running back to where I'd just come from and throwing the doors open when Allyson and Mayo emerged, both of them with tears running down their smiling faces. They collapsed against the door as they closed it, letting out heavy sighs, "Jeez…I didn't even deliver the babies and I'm worn out!" Allyson wiped her hands on the skirt of her dress.

"Is she alright? Alice, I mean…And the babies too! Is everything alright?" I instantly rushed to her side, clinging to her sleeve desperately.

Mayo nodded, halfheartedly wiping her tears away, "They're tidying up a bit before they let anyone in is all. Those are some fat little dumplings in there, Hatter. What in the world has Alice been eating?" she added off-handedly.

"Nothing unusual…I suppose it's just because she's been eating for three up 'til now."

Allyson took a deep breath and swept her hair out of her eyes, "True…but I don't think those two quite measure up to some of the babies I've seen on the Oraculum…" her gaze fell on Ilosovic and her grin widened, suggesting that she meant him.

He began formulating a response to her poke at him until Luna rounded the corner carrying more cloths and a water basin. Then, something different, though equally devious, flickered through his gaze, "Say, which one of the twins did Alice have first? The boy or the girl?"

Luna was relieved that the children had arrived at last, though she was dismayed that she had missed being there. That sadness, however, was replaced by eager anticipation when she overheard the question that had been posed; she and several other parties present had made a bet against one another.

Without a moment's hesitation, Mayo beamed proudly at him and Christian and declared that my daughter had beaten her brother by a full five minutes. Their crestfallen faces made me wonder if they'd wagered their most prized possessions on the matter…and both Allyson and Luna's were just as proud as a pair of peacocks.

"Perhaps I should fetch the mop to wipe up their tears?" Luna grinned mercilessly at her defeated opponents, "I need to get my coin purse to collect my winnings anyhow."

"I'll go and get 'em. McTwisp owes me too, and I've gotta tell him to go tell everyone else." And with that, the blue-clad Overlander skipped down the hallway victoriously.

Ilosovic winced and looked up at Luna piteously, "Have either of you no shame or compassion?" he whimpered. She shook her head and declared that they ought to have known better in the first place, and that there was no shame in winning fair and square, then flounced into the delivery room to assist the other women.

He and Christian vowed never again to gamble against either of them for any reason as long as they lived. They swore they'd never been so humiliated about losing in their whole lives; apparently they'd both doubled what the girls had offered, and seeing as how they both lost to both girls, Allyson and Luna had won four-fold. They didn't know what the White Rabbit had bet, but they were willing to wager that he wouldn't be too happy either.

A few moments later, after Christian and Ilosovic's dejected sighs had ceased and their heads were only slightly dipped in disgrace, the five women – Luna, my mother, Jasmin, the White Queen, and Zada– reemerged from the room looking exhausted, but happily so, "You can go in now, Tarrant. They're waiting on you…" Mum pushed the door slightly ajar and stepped aside.

Just in the nick of time too. I wasn't about to waste any getting in there to see the newest members of the Hightopp Clan.

My son and daughter.

 

**_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~_ **

**_Tarrant_ **

 

The first thing I noticed about both of the children was that their hair was quite obviously inherited from my side of the family; wild and brilliant orange even at only a few minutes old. It was harder to discern which side the curliness came from though. The second thing was that their eyes also came from me; bright green irises beneath snowy white lashes. I was astonished that they were open this early on, and I was amazed at how alert and curious the two were. Their fresh, wide eyes followed my every move as I approached their mother, and there seemed to be a spark of recognition in them when I spoke. They knew who I was then; they sensed it, "Hello there, little ones. We've been waiting on you an awfully long time…Daddy was very excited to hear you were coming you know. And Mummy too."

"I thought they'd never get here." Alice said, gently bouncing the little girl in her arms, "They're beautiful, aren't they dear?" she sighed, resting her cheek on the boy's head.

I could only nod and think, " _Just like their mother…_ "

She smiled up at me, "Here, you take one of them for a bit…my arms are about to fall off. Little buggers won't let me put them down." She sat up and motioned for me to join her on the bed –with her head, as her arms were full at the moment – so I could hold one of the babies. Our son put up a little more of a fuss when his mum tried to hand him off, so she handed me our daughter instead, "Mind her head…"

I took the little pink blanket in my arms as gently as I could, and gazed lovingly at the tiny girl looking back up at me, "There's my little lassie…hello sweet girl." My daughter returned my gap-toothed grin with one without a tooth in it, "Has your mummy picked out a name for you and your brother yet?" though I wasn't really asking her, she gurgled happily in response.

Alice shook her head, and our son grasped at some loose hair of hers that fell within his little arm's reach, "I was going to wait on you to come in before I decided on that. I want one of them to have a Overlander name, and one to have an Underlander name, but I can't decide which I want to have what name…" she brushed her hair away, and gave him her finger to hold onto instead, "What do you think, Tarrant?"

Pondering this, I leaned down to plant a kiss on the baby's forehead, which earned me a tiny little hand on my nose, "Hmm…I don't rightly know dear. That sounds like a very clever idea though! One with one name and one with the other…"

She giggled, pondering our options and cradling our boy. We sat there in silence for a few moments, soaking in the feeling of holding them for the first time. It was pure bliss. It was heaven. I knew there would never be another feeling that could equal this.

Then, Alice smiled, stroking the back of the baby's hand with her thumb, "Darling…I just had a thought! Since I'm from there and you're from here, our daughter could have the Underland name…and our son could have the Overland name. To switch it up."

I rocked our little girl, watching her yawn and wriggle beneath the blanket, "Mmm…yes, yes I like that. What a crazy, mad, wonderful idea!" I beamed at my wife, then at my daughter, "Wouldn't you agree…?" pausing, I searched for a name that would suit her. Scores of names filed through my mind, though none immediately jumped out at me.

I considered names that began with the letter _M_ …Morgana, Mirrah, Meridian, Marysa…

No…those would never do.

I looked at ones that started with the letter _H_ …Hadley, Henna, Helina, Arleigh…

Wait, that last one starts with an _A_ …silly me!

I tried _A_ , just out of curiosity…Azalee, Andria, Anika, Avrile…

Suddenly, a name struck me, out of the blue, "…Amalie! We'll name her Amalie!" I exclaimed. Alice cocked her head to the side and looked up from our son's face to mine, "I don't know if that's even a real name…but I like it! Don't you dear?"

She nodded vigorously, "Very much so. It's very unique, just like I'm sure she will be." She added tenderly, "Amalie it is then."

Feeling quite pleased with myself, I then turned my attention to Amalie's brother, "Now, what about him? What shall his name be?"

Alice crinkled her nose in thought, her eyebrows knit together in concentration. She stared down at our son, then off into space, then back at the baby thoughtfully.

She considered names that began with the letter _I_ …Isaac, Ivan ( _Stayne would have found that amusing I'm sure_ ), Ian, Isaiah…

Nothing pleased her.

She thought about names with _R_ as the first letter…Rodrick, Reginald, Randall, Robert…

Too bland, she said.

Then the letter _J_ came to her mind…Jeremy, Joshua, Johnathan, Jason…

" _Jackson_! That's it! Jackson!" she blurted out after a brief pause, "Oh, I've always **_loved_** that name! And it sounds just **_perfect_** with Amalie! Doesn't it, my little dove?" she kissed his fingers one by one.

I rested my head on top of Alice's and held Amalie up beside Jackson, and we looked at the pair of them; their cherubic little faces, their bottle green eyes, their hands grasping at one another, their tiny pink lips smiling up at us. They were perfect. Absolutely perfect. There was no other way to describe our sweet twins.

However, there were a few Outlandish words that came to mind when another pair peered in the door across the room.

"Has she had them yet Hatter?" Dee asked, peeking his round head inside.

Dum appeared on his brother's shoulders, "Course she has you dummy! Otherwise we wouldn't be here yet."

"Contrariwise we was already here before them, so we would be here if they wasn't yet."

"I mean we wouldn't be here _in this room_ if they wasn't here yet."

 "How do you knows that? You ain't Absolem, y'know."

"Boys!" Alice said sharply, deflating any further argumentation, "No bickering in front of the children…now I want you two to be good examples for them, and we can't have them fighting when they get older, now can we?" she asked, though it wasn't really a question.

The Tweedles shook their heads in shameful unison, "No…can't have that." One mumbled.

"Wouldn't be right at'all." The other muttered. They both nodded in solemn agreement.

Pleased that she'd gotten them settled down a bit, she smiled and sat up a little straighter, "Would you two be dears and go fetch the others and let them come in? I don't suppose we can keep them all to ourselves forever…" she sighed. I didn't see why not…they were ours after all…but then again, I supposed that the rest of the family would like to see them every once in a while…

Tweedledee and Tweedledum happily obliged, but then proceeded to argue over who was going to tell the others to come in. Alice realized she had taken up a lost cause in trying to get them to stop –it was just in their nature to constantly quarrel, I suppose – and just laughed.

            Dad was the first to get in the door, after someone shooed the Tweedles aside from the entrance, with Mum trailing right behind him. She had already held Amalie once right after she was born, so she took Jackson from his mother instead. He was a little more cooperative this time.

            "What a handsome boy you are! You look just like your daddy, little one…hair and all!" she beamed, tickling his cheek. Jackson yawned and batted his eyes at her sleepily, "But you have your mum's nose, I see."

            Dad brushed away a strand of Amalie's hair from her face, "Aye, but this one has the rest of her. If it weren't for her hair, I couldn't tell them apart!" he grasped her tiny hand between his fingers, "Only other difference is their eyes. She's got them Hightopp eyes, she has. Him too."

            "Pretty as a picture, isn't she? What a sweet little thing." Zada leaned over Dad's shoulder to get a better glimpse of her newest cousin, and to show her to Remy too, "Isn't she a darling?"

            "I reckon she's cute…for a baby anyways…" he grimaced, which only made the baby giggle harder, "Babies always look funny to me. They're all pudgy and wrinkly…" he made another face at Jackson, who gurgled in reply.

            Christian laughed heartily and stood behind his son and wife, "Remy, in case you forgot, you used to be a baby too. You were just as pudgy and wrinkly as these two here…actually, I think you were even bigger than them." The child denied ever having been an infant with all his heart, despite his parents' insistence that he just didn't remember it, and proclaimed that even if he had been one at some point he wouldn't have been in such a state. Remy declared that he would've been normal-looking at the very least –though what counts as normal in Underland is beyond even me – with nary a wrinkle or a smidgen of tubbiness about him.

            His parents relented and decided to humor him for the time being. If he didn't want to be a baby, he didn't have to be.

            Allyson tiptoed to my mother's side, followed by the other girls in her group, and they surrounded her and the baby, some of them having to peer between the others' heads to get a good look at him, "You clean up nice, little fella." She shook his tiny, pale hand and just grinned from ear to ear.

            "Little _nothing_!" Amber objected, "Look at those cheeks! He looks like a Cabbage Patch Doll!"

            "Isn't he just precious though?" Maccay waved to him over Mum's shoulder. He yawned again.

            "What a cutie!" Lucy squealed, her arm around her own twin. C'Lee nodded, a small smile curving her mouth upward. Their matching eyes were only a few shades lighter than the babies', I noticed for the first time. How peculiar…

            Mum turned to Luna to ask if she wanted to hold Jackson, but was met with the sight of her niece trying to wrangle her own child in her arms. Ezzie was still cranky after her brief nap, and both Ilosovic and her mother had their hands full trying to get her to calm down.

            She then turned to Zada, but she was now holding both Amalie and Remy, who seemed to be fascinated by how tiny his new cousin's fingers and toes were. Jasmin and Mirana were still cleaning up, so their hands were occupied as well.

            At last, she turned to the brood that had her encircled on three sides and asked who wanted the squirming bundle of joy. The first person Mum's eyes landed on was Allyson, but the young girl shook her head, "Give him to Mayo. She should hold him first." And she nudged one of her companions forward.

            Our dream-visitor seemed astonished by this gesture, and in fact turned around to confirm that her friend was serious before she held out her thin arms for the child. Mum smiled warmly and laid her grandson in the teen's embrace, patting her on the shoulder reassuringly. Mayo took a seat in the armchair beside the bed, resting her elbow on the arm so that hers wouldn't tire so easily, and hadn't gotten comfortable herself when she looked down and realized that Jackson had fallen asleep. All that yawning earlier hadn't just been for show!

            "Ohh…just look at him! They're both so sweet…" she was squirming with excitement, though she was careful to do it subtly enough that it wouldn't wake the baby.

            "And just think," Matt stood to her right, a Cheshire Kitten perched on each shoulder, "you get to babysit whenever you visit." All of the Overlanders had a giggle at her expense, but she didn't seem to mind. Alice told her she didn't have to if she didn't want to babysit, but Mayo insisted that she would be more than glad to watch the twins. I could tell she was head-over-heels already.

            "She won't be the only one overseeing the new generation, Matthew." A new voice remarked, and we saw Absolem flutter in at last, "I see you've already got your _paws_ full." He added, landing on Allyson's shoulder. Matt nodded, scratching Reshy under his chin.

            His companion smiled down at him, "I suppose you were outside smoking because Alice would have your hide if you did it in the house, hmm?" in response, he tickled the side of her neck with his wing.

            "She won't be getting mine; she'll be too busy getting after the Cat for getting fur all over the sofa in the parlor." The Butterfly retorted, lending a monacled eye to the largest feline in the room. Chessur's smile dropped immediately and he vanished, reappearing safely behind Matt and out of my reach. Alice was the least of his worries, of this he was well aware.

            Allyson rolled her eyes, but she was still laughing, "I don't think it's the kids we're gonna have to watch. They're better behaved than some of you are!"

            Ilosovic snorted disbelievingly whilst holding Ezzie sideways, with her arms around his right arm and one of her legs dangling over his left. Her cheek rested in the crook of his arm, and judging by the way she was grinning, she was apparently quite amused by being in this position.

            "You want to bet?"

            Christian suddenly began shaking his head fervently, "No, no, no! Don't go down that road again! She'll clean you out for sure!" he warned the younger Stayne.

            The Knight blanched, and started shaking his own head, "Never mind. Forget I said anything…" Allyson and Luna exchanged cheeky grins and a wink, giggling all the while.

            Mirana sighed, probably wondering how in the world she was all going to cope with this lot **_and_** the children all at once, and flitted over to see Amalie for herself. Zada gave her the baby so that she could take a break and get the circulation back in her arms.

            "She's going to be the prettiest little girl when she grows up, Hatter…I don't know what you're going to do with her! And her brother won't be able to keep the girls away at all!"

            Allyson scoffed, crossing her arms, "Hey, what do you think I'm here for? If anybody wants either one of these two, they'll have to go through all ten of us," she motioned to the rest of the band members, "and that's before they get to the family. They'll be lucky to make it past C'Lee or Amber."

            Luke stood from his seat in the floor and came up behind her, wrapping his arms about her waist, "And Heaven forbid they make it to you." He laid his head on the shoulder Absolem wasn't sitting on. She replied that he was correct, and she kissed him on the nose.

            The White Queen laughed airily, "If need be, I shall dispatch Ilosovic and you to guard the doors and to fend off any would-be suitors. No unworthy beau would be brave enough to take on the likes of the pair of you." She teased, smoothing the baby's blanket down in the middle, "Some of the worthy ones might not be either." She added, almost worriedly.

            Amidst everyone else chuckling, they both assured her and us that they would keep out the riff raff, but the respectable and honorable had nothing to fear.

            The Butterfly took this time to interject that we all hadn't anything to fear anymore either, as during his demon-hunting stint, he and his compatriots –Chessur and a few of the more powerful Outlanders – had destroyed the vast majority of the creatures that they had discovered in the farther reaches of our world. He said that, although they had not discovered the source of the beasts' power and magick, he doubted that we would be having many more problems for a very long time. The demons had been dealt a hard blow, and would take a while to recover.

            He said we were safe once again to travel more freely between the worlds, between the kingdoms, between houses. We didn't have to constantly watch our backs or worry about what lies in wait in the dark. Our enemy had been weakened, which made us feel ten times stronger.

            I wanted to Futterwacken then and there, but it was a bit too crowded. Later, perhaps.

            And hence, the threat that had so long loomed over both worlds was lifted, and everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief. Now we could really celebrate!

            For the time being, that is.

 

**_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~_ **

**** **_Allyson_ **

 

Six months seemed like mere weeks in Overland ( _mainly because that's how much time had passed here, but I digress…_ ), so needless to say I was a little shocked when McTwisp came to get us again and I saw Alice and Tarrant with the kids on the other side of the Portal. They had gotten so big so quickly that I almost didn't recognize them!

            Amalie's hair was down to her chin in scarlet ringlets, and she wore a tiny yellow bow on top of her head. Her dress was yellow and white and probably the frilliest thing I'd ever seen. It almost looked like a miniature ballgown! On her feet were black baby doll shoes and lacy white socks.

            Jackson's hair was fluffier, for lack of a better word, than hers, so it was harder to tell how long it was. He wore a pale blue suit and little brown shoes that were nearly identical to his dad's; he even had on a bowtie and a tiny top hat!

            "Gee whiz, where have I been?! They're almost grown!" Jackson reached for me as I drew closer, and I swept him into my arms and onto my hip; he was heavier than I remembered, "Hello there handsome…boy, you’re healthy too…" when I readjusted him, I was thoroughly glad that I wasn't wearing my dream clothes, because he would have pulled that little dress down farther than I cared for it to go.

            "What's the occasion? It's not their birthday yet, is it?" Sam scratched his head.

            Alice shook hers, "No, we're having a gathering so everyone else can meet them. It won't be as crowded as the last ball you came too though; only the monarchs and a few courtiers are coming. And the Knights."

            Oh, joyous day…       

            "We just thought you all would like to be here too!" Tarrant beamed, Amalie cradled in his arms, "I'm sure everyone would like to see you as well what with it being safer and all now... I'm sure they wanted to see you when it wasn't safer too, but it was harder then. Nobody likes to do things when they're difficult…" it went downhill from there.

            "Hatter?" Mayo started the chain, out of habit, no doubt.

            "But sometimes you have to do things that aren't easy, you know? It wasn't easy to have a tea party with Alice gone, but I did! Didn't I?"

            " _Hatter_." Maccay went next, a little more forcefully to get his attention.

            "No, no, of course I didn't! Not the last time at any rate. It wasn't teatime then, it was right before teatime. Or was it after? Goodness me, I don't remember! Do any of you-"

            " ** _HATTER_**!" we all joined in this time, finally jolting him out of his delirium.

            He stopped midsentence, shook his head, then cleared his throat, "Time, tea…I'm fine." He smiled brightly, and his daughter mimicked him, "Come, come! Let's get to the ballroom; the others should be arriving shortly." The Hatter beckoned us to follow him down the corridor.

            "Speaking of Knights…where'd Stayne get off to? Ilosovic I mean…"

            Alexander appeared as we walked through the doorway, and answered me, "Last I saw him, he was still polishing his armor. Queen's orders. Everybody has to be in dress uniforms." For the first time since I'd met him, the White Knight was wearing his pure white suit of armor. Even the chainmail that covered his arms and legs was white. The hilt of his sword was white. His hair had white in it. I could barely see him against the walls!

            "You don't sound very happy about it…" Lucy remarked.

            "Believe me, if you had to shine all this mess, you wouldn't either." His son entered the room, and nearly put our eyes out when he managed to find the only patch of sunlight coming through the window. His armor was so bright and shiny I could hardly stand to look anywhere below his neck.

            "Alright, alright, we get it! You don't have to blind us! Think of the children!" shielding the baby's eyes from the reflections, I motion with my head for Stayne to take a step or two to the right. When he finally got back into my line of vision –and I stopped seeing spots – I shot him a mock glare.

            "Sorry."

            "Don't you lie to me, Ilosovic Stayne."

            "Or what, half-pint?" he challenged.

            Everyone in the room gave him an incredulous look, even the babies cut their eyes over to him for a few seconds to see what everybody else was looking at, and my smile broadened, "Don't ask questions you don't want the answer to. I don't want to scuff up your outfit after you spent all that time on it." I arched my eyebrows at him. He didn't seem impressed.

            "You're going to beat me while you're holding a baby?"

            I nodded, "You won't hit me back, whether I'm holding him or not." Flouncing by, I stuck my tongue out at him and then took Jackson's tiny fists into my hand, making it look like he was swinging at him, "We can take him, can't we little buddy? Huh? We could beat him up, you think?"

            Jackson giggled, hiding his round face in my shoulder when Stayne leaned down closer to him, "He says we'll meet you outside after the party. Then it's on."

            Stayne chuckled and tickled the little tyke on his tummy, making him squeal and try to wriggle away, "Tell him I'll be there." Amalie suddenly squealed too, leaning out of her father's arms towards her brother's "attacker". She was growling and shrieking at him, though we couldn’t tell if she was really angry or if she was laughing with us.

            Alexander looked from his own child to the infant Hightopp and smiled, "Son, looks like you're outnumbered. You may want to rethink this…or get some backup at least." He suggested.

            Ilosovic's eyes widened as he rose to his full height and crossed his arms, "Well, what're all of **_you_** going to be doing?!"

            "Not getting beaten, most likely." Luna, dressed in a navy blue, off-the-shoulder gown, glided by and blew him a kiss as she continued toward the hallway we'd just exited. She said that Mother Rose had Ezrabeth, and she was searching for Madalya so she could get her ready, but the child wasn't cooperating. When I replied that her boyfriend wasn't either, she turned and gave him a once-over, "Well at least he's dressed. This one is still in her nightclothes!" and then disappeared.

            "Lucky kid…" he mumbled.

 

            **_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~_**

**_Allyson_ **

 

            I felt hopelessly underdressed once everyone was present and accounted for. All the women wore fine gowns, even Alice did, in spite of her loathing for corsets and stockings and whatnot. Hers was less decorated than the others, however, because she had to deal with two sets of curious, prying fingers for most of the night.

            "At least your shirt has a collar on it." Matt grumbled, ruffling his striped hair.

            "I'm wearing boots from Hot Topic and Halloween leggings. I'd hardly call myself  'dressed up'." I retorted. The black and red on my clothes looked so out of place in Marmoreal, even with the other court's hues milling around. It reminded me too much of Salazen Grum and Crims. But, red and black are two of my favorite colors ( _besides blue of course_ ) so I tried not to let it bother me. Focusing on the Kings and Queens was far more fascinating than our unintentional fashion faux pas anyhow.

            King Braden and Elias were the first to make their way to where Mirana and the Hightopps stood. They greeted the Queen with bows and politeness, but all was forgotten when eyes were laid on the twins. The king swept both of them onto his broad shoulders, announcing to everyone within earshot that these were some of the finest children he'd ever seen, and that they deserved very fine gifts. Upon Alice's objections and statements that he needn't have gotten them anything, he silenced her and told his young Knight to bring forth the presents.

Eli motioned for Tony to join him, as he apparently needed help lifting them, and when they emerged again from the crowd, they were carrying a pair of ragdolls that were bigger than the children that they were modeled after.

"I had my finest seamstresses sew these as soon as we got the news, Mrs. Hightopp! They were just finished the day we left Nidaria." He proclaimed proudly. I could understand why; they were enormous! Eli looked almost comical trying to wrangle the one in his arms, since it was longer than he was. Tony appeared to be holding Amalie's doll, which, Amber whispered to whoever was listening, was the closest he would ever get to having a girl all over him. Even me elbowing her in the arm didn't stop her snorting, or anyone else's.

Alice and Tarrant thanked him profusely, but as soon as he was gone, they exchanged a look that translated to, " _Where are we going to put **these**?_" Luna wore the same expression. I coughed and looked around, but not without meeting her eyes briefly. We'd gone overboard like everyone had said, and we knew it. Ah well…

King Sunyi and Saleen were next in line, along with Sam, with two more boxes. Sunyi bowed, "I am pleased to present these gifts to your children, and hope that there will be enough celebrating in the coming years for them to use these." He smiled, and motioned for the lids to be pried open. Inside Saleen's were rows upon rows of hairbows and teeny tiny jewelry sets in every color imaginable for Amalie. Sam's held dozens of bowties and the smallest pairs of cuff links I'd ever seen, "These will grow with the children as they age, so you won't have to worry about them outgrowing _everything_."

Almost everyone in my group agreed that our wardrobe budget would be sliced in half at the very least if one of us could master this charm. I told all of them that I would look into it ASAP.

Mirana then stepped down off the staircase, and Alexander followed suit. She remained at the foot of the stairs, just below the proud parents and the children, while he disappeared behind a curtain. The White Queen bowed her head and curtsied, which, for some reason, surprised us. Perhaps it was just because the other rulers were here, but she had been acting more formally than usual, more like a…well a queen…than a close friend of ours. We brushed it off and continued to watch, providing commentary when applicable.

Without warning, the elder Stayne popped up behind me and tapped me on the shoulder, asking me to come grab the other one. Flustered, caught off-guard, and none too happy about not being dressed for the occasion, I complied hesitantly and tiptoed up the stairs alongside him. We stopped next to the White Queen, and she opened one box to reveal the last thing any of us had expected.

A pair of matching golden blades; a dagger and a broadsword.

The identical weapons in my box were silver.

"These gifts are for when the children are a little older…" Mirana stated the obvious, "As you both know, they will need them when the time for war comes…though that is a long time from now." She added somberly. Alexander promised that he, Jasmin, and Ilosovic would all three help train the twins when they came of age, and even offered to enlist the help of the other three Knights, and I decided  to throw in my lot with them too. They were going to need all the help they could get from the way the White Queen was talking, and I was more than happy to volunteer whatever and whenever I could. The White Knight thanked me as we walked away, placing his strong, spindly hand on my shoulder, and I felt color rush to my cheeks almost as quick as the smile that preceded the blush.

It was hard not to strut back to my cluster of friends after being shown gratitude by ** _the_** most famous Knight ( _Alice not included_ ) in all of Underland for something I hadn't done yet.

            Allura and Danzia's entrance was a pleasant surprise; none of us had known they were coming, even though the Outlands technically qualified as a kingdom. They carried their own gifts in rolls on their backs, two blankets stitched together from various furs from various creatures. In the bottom right-hand corner, their initials were sewn on using beads and black thread. They looked so soft and warm, and I was immediately jealous that I didn't have one. Though, I highly doubt my mother would be able to overlook a Bandersnatch pelt thrown across my bed, and knowing that she could never know about Underland, with a sigh, I resigned myself to my blanketless fate.

            Queen Rubi was the last to greet Amalie and Jackson, and most all of us were rather thankful for that. Nothing against her, of course; it was her tag-along that we weren't very pleased to see. Thorne and his smug grin hovered just behind the Queen of Diamonds as she presented the babies with golden rattles with their names engraved on the gem-encrusted spheres. As she began to depart to mingle with the crowd, he sauntered over to our quickly dispersing pack and made a beeline for Ilosovic, who I didn't even realize was standing behind me.

            "Evening, Miss Allyson. Stayne." His grin was nothing short of wolfish. If he wasn't such a jerk, he might be half-way attractive, but looks only go so far for him.

            "Mmhm."        

"Thorne."

"My, my, you certainly do turn up at quite a few of these celebrations, don't you?" his question was aimed at me, or, his accusation, rather, "Seems like every time I come to Marmoreal, we cross paths."

I raised my eyebrows at him, "Can't help it if I get invited. Hate to disappoint." And I shrugged indifferently.

He chuckled, tossing his head back, "Oh, not at all! Quite the opposite really. It's nice to know that there'll be some stimulating conversation with you here, at least." If that was a jab meant for Stayne, I hated to tell Thorne it didn't work very well. He wasn't even listening, or didn't care.

            "I am known for my conversations." I replied, looking down my nose at him from my perch on a higher step, "Though I suppose the rest of that statement is a matter of opinion."

            He laughed again, "I suppose it is, isn't it?" Boy, what I wouldn't give to knock that grin right off his face; I've never met another person that irked me as much as he does, "Well, I hope you know that I didn't come over here to chat idly. I actually have news that I'm sure you'll both be interested in."

            "Oh?" Ilosovic's ears perked up.

            "Do tell."

            Thorne was positively dying to tell us what was on his mind; he could hardly keep himself from smiling like an absolute fool, "As I'm sure you know, her Majesty has it in her mind to replace me, and has for some time, but she has been unable to find someone to take the job up. Until now, that is." He added, pointing his finger between us for emphasis.

            Our faces probably lit up like a couple of Christmas trees. I know Stayne's did.

            "Who is it?" I sounded far too excited, but I didn't care at the moment. Hopefully, I wouldn't have to deal with him next time I was here, and that's all that mattered to me.

            But I should've known this news didn't bode well by the way Thorne's eyes lit up when he said ' _until now'_ , "Don't be so upset, dear girl. It still won't be for a few years. You see, my replacement is only a baby at the moment, not much older than these two, but she will become the Knight when she comes of age."

            Our smiles dropped slightly; what was he getting at?

            "She's also my adoptive daughter, by the way. Her name is Arya."

            Well, if that doesn't beat all…

            Ilosovic looked like a kid whose balloon had been popped mercilessly right in front of him with a giant needle. I probably looked something like a deer in headlights; I felt my jaw drop and my eyes blink rapidly. There was no way…she couldn't be his kid! Who in their right mind would let him take a kid in anyhow?!

            The only solace was that she was adopted, and wasn't actually spawned from this looney toon. If she had been, I'm pretty sure Stayne would have passed out right where he stood. He looked a bit pale as it was.

            "Oh…well uh…congratulations…" That sounded more like a question than a statement.

But what was I supposed to say to that? Replying with " _Oh, that poor baby!_ " and " _Well, you didn't say it was good news, now did you?_" didn't end well in my head. No, those were thoughts that needn't be said aloud. He already knew what I thought of him. There was no use reiterating it.

            "I would've brought her along, but she is much too young for such a long journey back and forth. Perhaps next time she'll be big enough." There was something different in his expression now; the way his smile reached into his eyes is what threw me off. He wasn't smirking maliciously or being arrogant for a change…he almost seemed…genuinely happy.

            "Maybe…" my own smile was uncertain. Something told me he was up to something underneath it all, but with only circumstantial evidence and a bad case of paranoia, I let the feeling go, if only for a moment, "This is probably a dumb question, but I don't suppose you’d happen to have a picture of her, would you?"

            He shook his head, "No cameras here, remember? Not like Overland, at any rate."

            "Oh. Yeah…guess I'll just tell Amber to bring hers next time she comes down, huh?" I laughed nervously, "I won't tell her why though. It'll be a…a surprise!"

            "Our little secret, eh?" he almost whispered. It sent a chill down my spine. Now I **_knew_** he was up to something, though what, I didn't know. Aside from the fact that he was rigging the system so that he would still have a hand ( _and eyes and ears_ ) in everything for the span of his daughter's career as the Knight.

            "S-sure…" I stuttered.

            Thorne was suddenly back to his old self when he chuckled again. He had smelled the fear coming off of me and was reveling in it. His enjoyment was cut short, however, when the Queen beckoned to him, saying it was time to leave. He waved goodbye and strode off behind Rubi, his haughty, swaggering step carrying him out the front door. He even waved at Amalie and Jackson as he passed by, and both of the twins smiled at him.

            They didn't know any better, I guess.

            Stayne waved unconsciously, out of habit, as if he didn't realize who he was waving at.

            I just stood there, staring blankly after the other Knight, "Did that really just happen?"

            Ilosovic dropped his hand to his side, running the other one through his hair, "To be quite honest, I don’t know **_what_** just happened…"

            And apparently, judging by everyone else's reactions later on, neither did they.

 

**_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~_ **

**_Allyson_ **

 

            We were saying our goodbyes that night, much more lightheartedly than previous times, mind you, when I noticed that Stayne had a worried look on his face. I couldn't help but wonder, so I asked what was wrong…more or less, "What is it? You worried Thorne's going to ask you to babysit?" I nudged him gently.

            "I'll be sure to have him call you if that happens. I have plenty of kids to watch as it is." He shot back, his smile returning, "I was just thinking about that poor little girl is all. Can you imagine how bad off you would have to be to get stuck with him?"

            This time I punched him in the arm, not as hard as I could have, but hard enough, "If you give him my number, I'll beat you like a drum…with or without Jackson! And no, I can't imagine that, nor do I want to. That is the stuff of my nightmares." We both repressed a shudder.

            "Maybe she won't turn out like him…" I thought aloud. Some kids aren't anything like their parents, adoptive or otherwise, and though that's not always a good thing, in this case it would be a welcome relief. One Thorne is already one too many if you ask me.

            "We can only hope." He shook his head, laughing and watching the stars from the balcony.

Before I turned to join the rest of the Warriors, I stopped and looked at them myself and wondered, " _Are these the same stars we see in Overland?_ " I would have to ask Absolem about that too.

            The two of us stood in silence for a moment before the other nine Overlanders started  calling for me, and I finally had to tell him goodbye, "Oh, guess I gotta go…see you later!" I ran off to join the others after I hugged him quickly, my boots clunking against the floor.

            This time, I was confident that I would in fact see him again soon.

            I wasn't worried at all.


	10. Chapter 9 - Someday Our Princess Will Come...

**_Allyson_ **

 

Luna had never really struck me as the "angry" type; Stayne's girlfriend had always seemed cool as a cucumber when I was around her…but there's a first for everything I suppose.

The first time I'd ever seen her lose her cool was about ten Underlandian years ( _somewhere around seven Overlandian months, if I'm not mistaken_ ) after Amalie and Jackson came along.

Time was such a strange thing between that world and ours, but the degree of the strangeness wasn't made as apparent to me or the others until we made subsequent visits to see the twins. Mayo's weren't quite as dramatic in terms of the children's growth as the rest of ours; she saw them on a more regular basis than we did, in her dreams. She was able to witness them taking their first steps and, on more than one occasion, feel their baby teeth coming in, while the remainder of the band was just in time to hear them start speaking full sentences and learning how to write their names. They quite literally grew up overnight, or at least that's how it looked to us.

The other kids did too. I didn't even recognize Ezzie the second or third time I saw her! Remy and Elias were almost as tall as me by the fifth visit, which isn't saying a whole lot, but that's beside the point… Mady was practically unchanged, only she'd gotten a little bigger. Same went for the Kittens and Aurora too. However, there eventually came a major difference in that particular group of our Underlander friends in the addition of Jennra and Ebony in June, and then Charlie and Adrian in late August. They were Alice and Tarrant's second and third sets of twins respectively. Romy and Mally eventually added Elise to their tiny family as well.

Poor little Jackson was outnumbered for a while, even with Remy and Eli's presences… so he was thankful when the odds evened out somewhat in his favor in the Dog Days of summer, "It's not that I don't like having sisters and girl cousins…" he told me as he held Charlie, who had been named for Alice's late father Charles, "It's just that there're so many more of them than there are of us, and one does get tired of playing with girls after a while!"

Both his mother and his twin sister scolded him for saying such a thing, but I was laughing so hard that I don't think he took their words to heart. I attributed his earnestness to the madness that seemed to run in the whole Hightopp clan; they were all honest to a fault, even and especially when they were a tad off-kilter at the time, but there was the one instance that Luna's opinion on the matter at hand wasn't something that should have been broadcast in the present company of Marmoreal…given who the present company was.

Being born into celebrity status, every time any of the Hightopp twins had a birthday or any other momentous occasion roll around, every soul in Underland dropped what they were doing and beat a path to Marmoreal as fast as their horses or whatever other creatures they rode could run, especially if it was the first-borns. Amalie and Jackson's big destinies equaled a big "fan base", as we dubbed the flock of strangers that would travel for days just to send their best wishes, and neither of them seemed to mind the attention, but they didn't brag about it either. They were more concerned about the fate that had earned them that following, and when their training was set to begin, they readily donned their suits of armor ( _a gift from Mirana that was blessed by the Outlanders for extra protection_ ) and took up the swords she had given them as infants.

Sorry, I'm getting ahead of myself…Luna's temper reared its ugly head the night before they started training. She had managed to calm down by the time they began their lessons.

We were all lounging around on one of the balconies off the ballroom, the same one a few of us had sat on the night after the Frabjous Day, when it happened. The younger kids were goofing around, weaving in and out of the doors and hiding in the curtains while we watched them, and the courtiers and royals were waltzing and chitchatting to their hearts' content.

Everything seemed normal; nothing alarming or of any particular exigency was going on, not until McTwisp came skittering through the crowd and nearly plowed into a pillar. Initially, we thought nothing of it, because he was always kinda jumpy, if you know what I mean…he was a rabbit after all, but he clearly thought it was important enough to abandon his post by the front door to tell us.

"What's it 'Twisp?" Ebony halted her playing to investigate the flustered bunny, "What're you so hoppy about?"

He did answer her question, but he wasn't looking at her when he replied. Instead, he frantically bounded up to Ilosovic, wringing his paws nervously and his ears were twitching, "S-Stayne…you need to come with m-me…i-it is **_most_** urgent." The White Rabbit began hopping away, turning to see if he was following.

Stayne's eyebrows knit together in confusion, but he began following after the White Rabbit nonetheless, and so did everyone else, "Is something wrong?"

"That's just it…I-I don't know. I mean s-something **_isn't_** _right_ , but what, I-I don't know." McTwisp replied, "Allura and Danzia are waiting, come quickly!"

Our hearts all lurched in that instant. The Witch Queen and Shaman King being involved meant only one thing to our minds; demons. Dread fell over us like a suffocating blanket as we trudged through the ballroom and out to the front hall. I think I held my breath for too long, because when I finally remembered to breathe it was a gasping sort of inhale.

Standing just inside the doorway were the two Outland rulers and Mirana, along with two much smaller people none of us recognized; a boy and a girl.

Confused stares were exchanged among our group, each one as dumbfounded as the one it was met with. Whose kids were those? What did they have to do with us, and more importantly, Stayne? He didn't have any kids…did he? He didn't seem to think so, judging by the bewilderment in his eyes.

"Y-you called, Mirana?" his eyes darted from her to the children and back again, and then to Allura and Danzia.

"Yes." Her tone was unusually dark and serious, her face drawn into tight lines, "These two just appeared at the gates a few moments ago, claiming you to be their father, saying that their mother sent them to live with you. Considering the fact that they were able to pass through the shields around the castle, and Allura and Danzia have checked them for any sort of magick and have found none, they cannot be demons in disguise. Care to explain how they got here?" she asked coolly.

I could feel his heart stop from across the room.

The two children turned to face us, and the resemblance was undeniable. Their hair was  black as night, their arms and legs were long and lean, and the little girl's eyes were the same blue as Jasmin's down to the last pigment. The boy's eyes were a shade of blue mixed with hazel only possible in Underland, for they were unnaturally bright, and he had the same birthmark as Ilosovic in the crease of his left eye. It was barely visible, but it was there.

"H-how…how is this p-possible?! I've never-! I haven't-!" he was unable to form his thoughts into coherent words, "Did t-they say wh-who their mother i-is?" the Knight of Hearts looked like he could swoon at any second, though no one was prepared to catch him. We all needed someone to catch us!

"No," Allura replied, placing her hand on the boy's shoulder, "dey do naht know 'er name. And 'im said her kept her face hid, so dey don' know what she look like." He looked frightened by the sight of all of us, like he'd never seen this many people before, and he clutched his sister tightly to protect her. Because of his abnormal height, it was difficult to determine his age, but he was younger than us Overlanders at least. The little girl was hardly old enough to not be considered a baby; she was perhaps two or three years old.

Luna's eyes were darkening from silver to a deep maroon as the seconds ticked by, her features sharpened and her hair became frayed. She was trying to rein herself in, but the next question and its answer sent her off the deep end.

Jasmin stared in awe at her two mysterious "grandchildren", and they watched her shyly back, "Well…I…where did you come from?" she addressed them rather than the Witch Queen, "Where is your mother?"

Softly, the boy replied with the one place that I hadn't even thought about, and the last place I wanted it to be, "The Outlands…" he nearly whispered, "In a cave."

My blood turned to ice water and my jaw fell to the floor.

The Outlands only meant one thing; Iracebeth.

"It can't be…there's no way…Ilosovic wouldn't…he would never…" I stammered in his defense without having to explain what I was referring to. They all knew just like I did that the desert region of Underland was inhabited by only one person who had it out for him, who was utterly obsessed with him, and would do anything to avenge her broken heart, and it was the former Red Queen. How she did this, I don't know, but she was clearly the one behind it. I mean, who **_else_** wanted to have kids with him that badly?

Okay, that came out wrong…moving on…

If Luna had been any taller, she would have reached over and slapped Stayne dead in the mouth, but being hardly tall enough to reach some of the shelves in her dress shop without a ladder ( _or Ilosovic's assistance_ ) she settled for a glower that, if looks could kill, would've annihilated the entire occupancy of the foyer and a vicious Outlandish rant, "Oh **_indeed_** 'e bloody well **_wouldn'_**! Looks like 'e pulled tha wool o'er **_yer_** eyes, lassie! Cen yeh not **_see_** 'em?! 'im an' **_Iracebeth_** , that slurking guddler's kyre jibblery-" she whirled around to direct her fury at the unsuspecting father, backing him almost into the wall.

"Luna! Luna, **_please_**!" he begged, just short of getting down on his knees before her, "I **_swear_** to you, I knew **_nothing_** of them until today! I had no clue-!"

He didn't get the rest of it out. Unable to control her rage any further, she turned on her heel and stormed down the hall to the room she and the girls were staying in for the night and slammed the door with a resounding _BANG_. Her muffled curses were still to be heard, even through the thick walls.

 I'd never seen Stayne as miserable as that in all the time I'd known him. Never. Not even when we were in Salazen Grum. Alice gave chase to spare him from getting an earful of what would undoubtedly be another string of profanity, and promised to talk her down. Tarrant watched, conflicted on whose side to take in the matter.

"Regardless of how they came to be, they will need somewhere to stay while we sort this out…" Mirana said, "Rooms will be prepared for them near yours and your parents', Ilosovic. I assume that won't be a problem?" she added sharply. Her tone was even more startling than Luna's; to my knowledge, the White Queen had never said a cross word to anyone, not even her sister, and yet here she was copping an attitude with someone a full head and shoulders taller than her.

Ilosovic shook his head as if he'd zoned out and then looked down at her incredulously, "O-of course it's not. If they **_are_** my children- what sort of question is that exactly?" he shot back.

"Just wondering." She retorted.

Now I had seen **_him_** get angry a few times before –he snapped at me in Crims when I was trying to get him out, if you'll remember – but his expression and voice was closer to indignation than it was to rage, "If you were thinking I would leave these two out in the cold because of their mother, then **_you_** are sadly mistaken, your highness, and so is **_your_** **_sister_** if she thought so. I don't rightly care who their mother is, if I **_am_** in fact their father, and I will accept full responsibility for them, even under these…unusual circumstances." Stayne's gaze softened when it fell on the two newest members of his family, but sharpened once more when it met Mirana's again. However, before either one of them could start after the other, another voice interjected.

"This is not your cross to bear alone." Absolem fluttered down from a chandelier overhead. Sneaky little bugger had been eavesdropping apparently, "Mirana also has her share to do…being that Raven is now the heir to the throne." Smoke was hanging around the Butterfly like a cloud when he landed on my shoulder, and it made me cough.

"Raven?"

"Your daughter, of course…She has royal blood, and so does your son. Since this realm is traditionally led by a woman and Mirana has no daughters, Raven is now its princess…and Victor will be her knight…unless something happens to either of them."

 _Ohhhhh_ …so that's why the White Queen is so upset! Looks like Iracebeth is getting her crown back…sort of…in a way…I think.

There was some small comfort in knowing that the little girl was too young to have learned much from her mother, and that her brother didn't appear to be terribly aggressive either, but the current monarch didn't seem to pick up on that. She seemed even less thrilled than the new father.

The White Queen folded her hands in front of her and nodded solemnly, "Yes, while this does simplify some matters, I would have liked more time to prepare-"

"Join the club."

Alexander "gently" nudged his son with his elbow and told him to zip it. Jasmin gave both of them a dirty look, and she and Rosalynn made an exit to check on Alice's progress with Luna, who could still be heard cussing up a storm.

Many of the others slowly began drifting out as well, fearing another shouting match was about to begin; the only ones still rooted in place were me, the less than proud papa and Auntie Mirana, the children themselves, and Absolem. The other Warriors hung around the main entrance to the ballroom, occasionally casting wary glances back at us. Allura and Danzia bid us all goodnight and disappeared into the dark.

Mirana went on as if he hadn't said a word, "That being said, we will discuss the situation further in the morning when we've all had time to simmer down a tad. Nothing can be accomplished when one is in a temper. I would suggest you all either return to the party or get some sleep." Upon noticing that I was the only other person besides her niece and nephew in the room who was under 21, Mirana beckoned for me and requested that I take them to their rooms down the hall to get them settled in.

At first, I was going to ask if I could take Victor and Raven to the party for a few minutes, if only to introduce them to the other kids, but then I realized the time and figured that the Hightopp brood and friends were all probably in bed themselves. Looks like making friends would have to wait until tomorrow too. The pair of them looked traumatized enough as it was anyhow; they needed rest more than the adults did.

Offering my hand to the older child, and an apologetic gaze to their father, I lead them past the festivities to their room.

 

**_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~_ **

**_Allyson_ **

 

After we were well on down the hallway, Victor spoke up, though his voice was still hardly audible, "Father doesn't really want us here, does he?" his grip on my hand was limp, despondent, "We rode all this way for nothing…"

The look on his face broke my heart, "Oh honey no, it's not like that. He…he just wasn't expecting you. None of us were. And he didn't really get along with your mama that well, so…"

"She didn’t tell me that before we left. She only told me who he was and where he might be." Raven's little arms were draped around her brother's neck, her head resting on his shoulder, "So…he isn't angry with us for coming? He's mad at her?"

I nodded, "Yeah, something like that. I think."

"What about that lady that ran out?"

Luna surely wouldn't be angry at the children; they hadn't done anything to her, she was most likely she was mad at their parents, especially good ol' Pops back there, "Luna's not mad with you either. Your daddy's gonna have to figure out how to handle that one for himself though, and I wish him good luck with that."

The very thought of getting on her bad side scared the daylights outta me after that little episode. Even after the other womenfolk had gotten her calmed down, I wouldn't want to be in the same room if Stayne decided to waltz in and try to talk to her. I'd take on a Jabberwocky single-handedly first! Yikes!

"And our aunt? The White Queen…?"

"Now **_that_** , I don't know. If I were her, I'd be angry with your mother and not you, but…" I shrugged, stopping at the door that had appeared between Ilosovic's room and what had been a corner that leads into another corridor, "I dunno. I can't even tell if she's mad or not…"

"Oh, she's mad alright."

"We're **_all_** mad here, don't you know?"

The Cheshire Kittens appeared briefly above our heads, giving both the Stayne children and me a start.  That was a nasty habit of theirs; popping up out of nowhere. Family trait.

"Not what I meant guys, but yes, I’ve figured that much out." It was a fact that was kinda hard to miss, no matter how much or little time you'd spent down here. If you didn't notice that, then you clearly weren't paying attention to anything.

Reshy and Felicity circled us a few times before making themselves mostly visible, their vapory tails mixing together as they passed one another, "So who's this? And that one too?" Felicity purred.

"They must be from somewhere else. We've seen everyone from Marmoreal." Reshy flipped himself upside down and hung in front of them.

Victor cleared his throat nervously and introduced himself and his sister, who was struggling to keep her eyes open and her head upright. The Kittens grinned and did so as well, and we all assured the jittery boy that the other children were just as friendly. Felicity even managed to lure a smile out of him when she wondered aloud which of the girls would take a fancy to him first.

My mind immediately went to the only girl that would give his daddy fits; Arya Thorne. Knowing Ilosovic's luck, that'd be the **_only_** girl that takes an interest in his son. Not that there's anything wrong with **_her_** …she was a sweet girl, kinda spacey sometimes, but she was a little darling. We'd gotten lucky.

"If he's anything like his dad, we're gonna have to beat 'em off with a stick. Every time you turn around he's got another one coming after him…first Luna, then Alice, now their mom…" sarcasm was practically dripping out of my mouth.

Victor's eyes widened, " ** _Alice_**?! _The_ Alice?"

That particular scene from my last visit to Crims flashed across my vision before I could stop it, and I reflexively rolled my eyes in response, "I'll tell you when you're older." I chuckled to myself, "You need sleep right now. Off you go…" Upon opening the door to their room, the sensation one gets when they realize they're being watched crept over me, and I ushered the two inside quicker so that I could investigate. The feeling was made worse by the hasty farewell the Kittens bid me before I even got turned around all the way, and by the silence that filled the empty hallway.

Well, I say it was empty…I wish that it had been.

Out of my peripheral vision, I saw a shadow creep along the floor towards me, a shadow that wouldn't have been noticeable if I hadn't suddenly become irrationally paranoid. After considering my past experience with creepy, black, shapeless masses, taking a step backward was the most logical thing that I could think to do, but that time my logic failed me.

"Allyson, what in Underland are you-?"

A shrill squeak escaped my lips as my back met something that was cold and felt considerably sturdier than me. Expecting to be met with the sight of a hideous monster closing in – my mind didn't register that my name had been said at the time – it was a happy occasion to discover Thorne standing behind me instead. However strange it was, it wasn't a long-lived feeling.

Angry that he had startled me, or that I had startled myself in his presence rather, I crossed my arms and glowered at him impatiently, "I'm glad I wasn't armed, or I'd have some explaining to do to Queen Rubi right about now. You can't just come up behind me like that y'know."

"My apologies, dear girl." he grinned amusedly, "I'll be sure not to make that mistake again. Didn't think I would frighten you so badly…"

"Yeah, yeah, sure." When I looked again, the shadow was gone, so I couldn't blame it for giving me a heart attack and wipe that smug look off his face. Figures. When you **_want_** the demons to show up at a bad time, they're nowhere to be seen, but the minute you **_don't_** want them, they're beating the door down…

Rather than going on his way and leaving me alone, he crossed his arms behind him and leaned forward expectantly, like he was waiting on me to keep talking, "I'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess that you heard the Royal Rumble earlier and you want the juicy details?"

Thorne put on his best " _I haven't the slightest idea what you mean_ " face; tilting his head to the side and putting his hands on his hips, "There was fight?" he asked.

"Don't play dumb; you heard Luna go bananas just like I did. I'm pretty sure the entire dimension heard her."

"Oh **_that_** …yes, I caught the very end of that actually. Odd that Iracebeth is choosing to strike out at him all this time later, isn't it?" There was something in his tone that I was none too fond of, aside from the usual; it was like he was subtly trying to tell me that he knew something that I didn't. And that ain't gonna fly, "And what an odd way to avenge oneself…not the way **_I_** would go about it, but to each his own I suppose." He shrugged dismissively, nodded a goodnight to me, and finally started back on his way down the corridor with an arrogant grin over his shoulder.

"How would **_you_** go about it then?" It's times like this that I wish I had a brain-to-mouth filter that was functional. That wasn't supposed to come out in the first place, and it came off with way too much " _come at me bro_ " in it.

Thorne's sneer faded into something harsher, something that actually incited a little fear in the recesses of my mind, something intensely cold and callous, "We're fairly even, I would dare say, but should he or anyone else cross me any certain way, I prefer the more…traditional… forms of vengeance."

His scarred gaze said, "An eye for an eye."

And he needn't repeat himself.

 

**_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~_ **

**_Allyson_ **

 

 "What took you so long?" Ilosovic looked like he was about three laps away from pacing a hole in the floor of the balcony by the time I found him, Absolem and Maccay. The Butterfly was perched on her shoulder, and both looked very concerned and deep in thought. Stayne looked like he could keel over at any second.

"I was putting your kids to bed and then Thorne decided to scare fifteen years off my life in the hall on the way back. It amazes me endlessly that my hair isn't the same color as Mirana's by now from dealing with certain people…including but not limited to him, Absolem, and your crazy baby mama."

He was not amused, and Absolem didn't seem to hear my insult. He was too busy grilling my other friend for information she didn't have, from what I could gather, "Like I said, if I had known about this before tonight, I would've told somebody." Maccay leaned against the railing, shaking her head, "I haven't been able to come down here for a while now, so what was I supposed to do? How was I supposed to know that the Red Queen was up to something?"

"Why didn't you tell anyone you couldn't get through?"

"I didn't think anything of it. It's happened before, before the Frabjous Day. And I wasn't about to **_complain_** about getting a vacation from her."

Stayne ran his hand through his hair shakily, "You don't think…this has anything to do with…with demons, do you Absolem?"

The Butterfly paused for a moment, as if he were reluctant to give him more bad news, so I took it upon myself because I knew my delivery would be a little gentler than his, "Not demons alone. They are not intelligent enough to do this without guidance, and Iracebeth doesn't have the means or know-how to control them herself. She has to have help-"

"The rogue Outlander sorceress Drina is behind this, and that being said, this is only the beginning of whatever plan she has." Absolem lifted off from her shoulder and hovered a few inches from Ilosovic's face, speaking in a grave tone "You may not be fond of the situation, but regardless of that, you must protect your son and daughter from that witch at all costs. Drina has done things to people that the Red Queen wouldn't have given a passing thought. Iracebeth was mistreated and wronged; Drina is a madwoman…and not in the usual way."

Stayne furrowed his brow and huffed. I couldn’t tell if he was angry or scared or both…he just looked lost and defeated. And what could I say to help? Nothing. All I could do was stand there with an expression that mirrored his.

Maccay shuffled back inside as Absolem dismissed her from questioning. Luke and the Long twins huddled around her and though I could not hear them, I knew they were discussing the evening's events in hushed voices just like all the other stragglers in the ballroom.

The Butterfly alighted once more, this time heading for the castle's topiary garden, "I will do all in my power to keep Drina at bay, but everyone in the castle needs to prepare for what may come if I fail. I fear this is the war that Allura prophesied Amalie and Jackson would lead…and now your children are to join the battle."

In that prediction was a glimmer of hope, "Didn't she say that they would defeat a great evil? I mean…if that's the case, should we really be that worried?"

The last thing he said before he flew into the night left me with a hollow sensation in my gut, "Victory has its costs, just like failure."

 

**_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~_ **

 

"They were both delivered safely?"

The man on the other end of the Portal sneered, "Don't you worry your pretty little head about it, 'Racie. Your little brats got here in one piece, and now they're sleeping right next door to Daddy if-"

"Enough." Drina interrupted, leaving her cohorts to a glaring match, "Dere is not time fah backbiting."

He scoffed, "I don't see why not. All we've left to do is wait 'til everyone gets really attached to Jr. and the Princess, and then snatch them right back."

The Witch's eyes narrowed to slits, "I would ha'dly say dat. You still 'ave much to do fah me."

His haughty grin faded, replaced by a worried frown, "What's that supposed to mean? I thought you said that I had to get those two and that was the end of it?"

She shook her head while Iracebeth looked on, equally as confused, "I nevah said dat…I said until I had all de children I need…dose two ahre not all dat I need." She seemed to contemplate something for a moment before she spoke to him again, "Ahf caurse, if you don' want to travel to Ovaland and eenstead wish to volanteer yowah daughta…"

The man suddenly became furious, slamming his fist against the edge of the Portal. The closer he leaned to the surface, the less the shadow of night obscured his face, "You leave Arya out of this! Don't you even think about touching her, or I'll slice you to ribbons!" Thorne drew his dagger from his belt and flashed it in the moonlight. Drina was unfazed.

"I brought you dat chil', Thorne. I cean tek ha' bahck jus' as easily."

There was a deadly silence between the three, until a tiny, sleepy voice was heard calling for Arondight. He turned, and in a much gentler tone told his little girl that he was coming, "Fine." He snarled at the women staring back at him, and then his Mirror went dark.


	11. Chapter 10 - For the Birds

**_Allyson_ **

 

Hard as it was to believe, it had been four years in Underland since Raven and Victor had arrived, and aside from the usual sounds of a small army of children growing up, all had been quiet in Marmoreal and Witzend, as well as the other realms.

Or so we foolishly believed.

The 9 Hightopp hooligans, as we took to calling them, Stayne's two kids, the Kittens and Mice, Elias and Arya Thorne were all as thick as thieves. They trained together and studied together and played together within the walls of the White Queen's castle.

Especially close were Amalie, Jackson, Victor, and Arya. If the girls weren't off in a nook in the library giggling about something together they were strolling through the gardens with the boys. At every ball or gala, any hopeful young ladies or gentlemen waiting for a stolen moment with the new "chosen ones" had to contend with the two knaves, which was no easy task. Victor had his imposing height and Arya just had to mention her last name to discourage any flirting. And the twins didn't mind one bit; there was no "solid" evidence that they had a crush on their constant companions, but they weren't terribly interested in anyone else either. Of course, they were all only 14, so they had more important things on their minds…

Everyone did at the moment; Raven's sixth birthday was coming up, the day she would officially begin her schooling to become a proper princess. There will be a ball tonight –imagine a Sweet Sixteen or Quinceñera, but for a first grader – where she'll be presented with her first little tiara and scepter. She'll have a first dance with her father, which is going be quite humorous to watch considering the ridiculous height difference, even if she is wearing inch and a half heels and is standing on his toes. She even gets to stay up as late as she can stand; Victor challenged her to a contest to see which could outlast the other.

And to be honest, my money's on the future queen. She's got far more energy than should be legal, and her brother's not much of a night owl to begin with.

Fortunately for her present, I am capable of pulling all-nighters and so is Amber.

Matt and Luke poked their heads in the door for the fourth time; everyone else had been asleep for at least two hours, but these two just wouldn’t give it a rest, "Are you done with that thing yet?"

"The kid said she wanted a fancy cape, so it's gotta be fancy." Although it felt like my hands were going to fall off at any second, disappointing Raven on her birthday would hurt worse than a case of carpal tunnel. I had to admit, the embroidering on the cloak wasn't half bad, but perhaps Bedazzling it was a bit much. Oh well…

"Do I get a fancy cape for my birthday?" Luke teased. His nineteenth birthday was in two days, but unlike Raven, he had no occasions to wear a fancy cape aside from concerts – when he would complain about wearing anything other than a t-shirt and jeans – so all he got for a reply was a " _What do YOU think?_ " look. He pretended to pout, but that stopped working on me many moons ago.

"Maybe if you'd asked a few weeks ago like Ilosovic did…" Amber started.

"…instead of waiting until the last minute like you usually do, you might have gotten one. But **_you_** didn't want **_anything_** , so…" I shrugged. In all actuality, his presents had been purchased several weeks ago and were hidden in my closet, but I wasn't about to tell him that.

Sometimes I swear I'm evil.

Matt sighed dramatically when we refused to acknowledge them further, and swept himself and my boyfriend out of the room, "Fine, fine…we know when we're not wanted. Good night!"

"Good morning, actually. It's after midnight."

Neither of them responded. Amber snickered and kept sewing alongside me until it was done…three hours later.

 

**_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~_ **

**_Allyson_ **

 

Thankfully, no one came to get us until about 2 or 3 in the afternoon; Amber and I hadn't gone to bed until 3:45 that morning because we had to wrap the cape in colored tissue paper and find a box that it would fit in, all without waking my mother whilst creeping about the house. We were beyond exhausted.

Remy was the one who came through the Portal this time, because apparently he was the only person who wasn't busy with the party, "It's a madhouse in there. Don't get too comfortable standing about…they'll likely find something for you to do before you get in the door."

"They'll have to catch me first. I’m here for the food." Amber grunted, trying to rub the sleep out of her eyes without smearing her mascara.

Remy grinned and leaned against the doorjamb as we roused ourselves and got ready, "Sounds like they won't have any trouble with that." She mumbled something in response but no one bothered to translate it into plain English, "The actual ball doesn't start until this evening, but there is still quite a bit to get done. And everyone has to get there of course."

Lucy finished tying her shoes and looked up, "I hope they aren't waiting on our account."

Remy shook his head and told her no, that the Diamonds were likely going to be later than the others because something unexpected came up and their caravan had to take a detour. According to the messenger that was sent to Marmoreal, there was suspicious activity nearby and while Thorne was confident that his men could protect the travelers, Queen Rubi refused to take the risk.

I sure hope that doesn't mean what I think it means.

 

**_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~_ **

**** **_Allyson_ **

 

By the time we got through the sea of servants I didn’t even know lived in the castle and found the main party area in the courtyard, the Diamonds were already parading down the drawbridge. Arya waved from the back of her father’s horse when she saw us, and we waved back. He paid us no mind; he was probably still sulking about not getting to take on a horde of demons on the way here.

            We paid him the same amount of attention. Raven was trotting towards us excitedly, the two youngest Hightopps close behind her.

            “Ally, Ally! You’re all here!” she leapt into my arms just as I tossed my present to Luke so the box wouldn’t get ripped. Charlie and Adrien went straight for Mayo, one climbing up one side and one up the other.

            “Well we certainly weren’t going to stay home and miss your party!” C’Lee said matter-of-factly, “Not with all these presents we got you…”

            Her brilliant blue eyes got even brighter, “Oh, you didn’t have to get me anything! I’ll be getting so many already…”

            Charlie grinned, one tooth missing in the front, and turned to look at the soon-to-officially-be princess, “Then wha’s a few more gonna hurt?” they both giggled.

            “It might hurt her father and her brother, since they’re going to be carrying it all back to her room.” Luna appeared, her own arms loaded down with decorations, “Unless of course some of you fine, upstanding young people would like to assist them?” she was teasing, while subtly hinting that _she_ needed help. And she got some from those of us brave enough to climb the willows in the courtyard to hang the garlands and streamers, after we got finished looking for the “fine, upstanding young people” she was talking about, that is.

            Several splinters and many cries of “I’m not redoing this again, so make up your mind” later, the last of the decorations were placed and we could finally join in the celebration. We all bounced between the kids and the adults, being at the age where we could do that, if we weren’t holding down the food table or trying to figure out who got Raven what.

            Raven herself had temporarily been seated on what looked like a tiny throne between two willows; she was busy greeting everyone and thanking them for coming for about 20 minutes before Ilosovic decided that it was time to get the presents out of the way while he had her in one spot.

            “She looks like she’s about to fall asleep if we don’t…and so does her brother.” He shot his fully-conscious son a smirk. Victor was no more asleep than I was, but he was apparently having too much fun talking with his friends for his father’s taste and needed something more “productive” to do with his time. Victor returned the grin with a scowl and raised eyebrow, but nonetheless dutifully marched over to his little sister and leaned over to whisper something to her. His scowl was gone by the time he turned back around, and she announced to her guests – in a ( _clearly practiced_ ) queenly tone – that she was ready to begin.

            She opened her family’s gifts first; Victor had gotten her scepter made especially for her tiny hands, Ezzie and Mady gave her a pair of white gloves and a necklace that matched her scepter, Ilosovic and Luna gave her a beautiful blue ball gown that she would change into for the first dance, and her aunt gave her the tiara that had been passed down from her mother, and her mother’s mother, and so on. Her grandparents came through the crowd with a grey pony in tow, and I couldn’t tell who was smiling more brightly, her or them.

            The Hightopps had all gotten her whatever book or other trinket little she had asked for; Alice and Tarrant had asked Mayo to get some books from Overland on their behalf, and she had delivered them a few nights ago. Amalie had given her a little diary so she could “practice writing royal decrees and whatnot”, Jackson had made her a new hat “in case she gets tired of her crown”; she was so torn between it and her crown she couldn’t stand it. Raven finally declared that she would wear the hat for the time being, and put the tiara on during the dance. The younger children brought her various toys, except for Adrian…he and his grandparents brought her a small vase of white roses from the royal garden.

            Raven tore into our gifts soon after theirs, sweeping her new cape around her the moment she got it free of the tissue paper. Her pile of stuffed animals and books only grew as the rest of our group passed their presents to her; now she had Little Golden Books about every Disney princess there was, and a plush doll for each of them too.

            The other kingdoms gave their offerings next; the Clubs presented her with a ceremonial saber…for future use, Sunyi said, as the sword was bigger than she was, the Spades had outfitted her horse with the finest leather and silver they had, and the Diamonds gave her a whole new wardrobe for nearly every season and in every color imaginable. I don’t think I’ve seen this many different kinds of clothes in my entire life!

            Tony was struggling to keep his eyes from bugging out of his head, “Why don’t I have a closet like hers Amber?”

            His sister shrugged, “Even if you did, you’d still complain about not having anything to wear.” He didn’t argue, for once. We all knew she was right.

            The Outlanders were the last to give the new princess a gift, though theirs was not only a physical item. As was tradition, Allura and Danzia would bless her with a spell for good fortune and protection, and then present her with a token of some sort that would strengthen their magic for a time. The token they chose for Raven looked almost like a charm bracelet made from the pastel beads that they wore, and it was as Allura was placing it around her wrist that a chill swept through the air. We all turned toward the direction the gust had come from, but by then it was too late.

            We couldn’t stop the horde of bird-like demons from swooping over the walls.

            We couldn’t fight them all off, not even with all of the soldiers encircling us.

            We couldn’t have known what…or who…they were after.

 

**_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~_ **

**_Victor_ **

 

" ** _RAVEN!_** " I, along with the rest of Marmoreal, watched in helpless horror as an enormous avian monster wheeled through the stormy sky with my little sister in its claws. She was screaming for someone to save her.

But what could we do?

Chaos erupted, and soldiers from every province were pouring out of the main gates. The older knights were unable to formulate any other solution on such short notice, so I resolved to go after the beast and pray that I could shoot it down without hitting Raven. Scrambling to my feet, I sprinted away from Amalie and Ezzie towards the stables to mount my horse, but something wrapped around my arm and snatched me backwards. I turned in time to see Father with a half-crazed, half-terrified expression on his face, "Victor, what are you doing?!"

"I'm going after her-"

"Absolutely **_not_**!" he turned me to fully face him as our friends and family raced past us and into the safety of the castle, "I am not losing **_both_** of my children in one night!"

I tried to pull away and dart out of his reach, but he caught me easily, "You won't lose me, Father! It didn't want me! It didn't want anyone else but Raven-" If anyone else had even come near the creature, it had shoved them to the wayside and immediately snatched poor Raven from her throne; however, explaining that to him was to no avail.

"I don't care **_who_** it was after, I'm not about to let **_you_** out of those gates with that demon on the loose! It could very well change its mind and come back." He snapped, "Now, I want you to get inside and find Allyson so you can-" Knowing her, and knowing him, the rest of his phrase was going to be 'keep her and yourself out of trouble', but Father never got to finish what he was saying.

True to her character, not even seconds after her name left his mouth Allyson exploded out of the stalls atop a bay mare and galloped out after Saleen and Eli, yelling for her horse to go faster. Her braid flew out behind her head, whipping from side to side in the wind. She soon disappeared into the darkness outside the castle walls. Luke didn’t even have time to call out to her before she was out of sight.

Seizing my opportunity to bolt while he was still in shock ( _though I don't know **why** he was surprised_), I ducked under his arm and made a run for it. When he finally picked his jaw up off the ground, he called after me and made his own way to the byre, "Where do you think you're going?!"

"You told me to go find Allyson…"

His eyes narrowed, "That's **_not_** funny."

"I wasn't joking."

"Nor was I. Now I would _suggest_ you take yourself inside right now Victor." But his tone was far from being suggestive, "We don't need everyone outside, someone needs to stay behind in case one of those monsters comes back-"

I turned and snapped at him as I threw myself into the saddle and galloped away, "Well then let someone who isn't her brother stay here! I won't do it!"

He had no further objections, and soon followed me into the storm.

 

**_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~_ **

**_Allyson_ **

 

            It took me what seemed like ages to catch up with the main rescue party. The rain blurring my vision and creating thick mud for my horse to slide and trip through wasn't making the frantic journey any easier, and the constant rolling thunder and lightning had me worried that he might get spooked and throw me.

            "Saleen! Which way did it go?! I can't see anything!" even though we were maybe five feet from each other, I had to scream for her to hear me over the gale force winds.

            She shook her head, "I don't know, we lost it in the clouds!"

            "I heard it screech a few minutes ago!" Eli shouted from my other side, "It seems like it's going towards the Outlands!"

            Of course it is…It's taking her back to her mother…or worse…Drina. Or twice as bad, both, since odds are they're working together.

            I swear, if it's not one thing it's another…

            More hoof-beats appeared behind us, and more white capes soon fluttered in the wind on either side of me. I had expected Ilosovic and even Tarrant, but Arya and Victor were a bit of a surprise; I couldn't believe their fathers had let them leave the castle after this. Then again, they probably hadn't **_let_** them do anything.

            It was barely a few seconds later when we caught sight of the bird again; a break in the clouds let the moonlight cast its shadow over us. I could just make out the glitter of the gems on her cape as she flew just out of our reach.

            "There she is!"

            Alice pulled up alongside the Knave of Diamonds and yelled something to her about "shooting it down", and it was when she drew her bow back to aim that it dawned on me that Arondight was nowhere to be found. For all his other flaws, he adored his daughter and it shocked me that he wasn't trailing behind her, furious that she had left the safety of the castle.

            Mid-thought, I was ripped from the saddle, soaring through the air above the jagged branches of Tulgey Wood. I tried to grab the reigns or cry out for help, but by the time I reacted it was already too late. Everyone else was too busy chasing the one with Raven to notice I got snatched up until my voice came back.

            " ** _Help me!_** " thrashing wildly, I looked up into the blood red eyes of my captor. It was some sort of shadowy demon, much like the ones that had appeared at my Halloween party. Its claws pierced through my shirt, almost cutting into my skin. My hair was tangling around its talons even as I tried to pry them loose.

            I suddenly remembered my sword dangling on my belt, and I decided to cut myself free. However, the thought never occurred to me that if I was let go of, I would fall to my doom. Failing to realize this, I unsheathed my blade and hacked at the beast until it let out a bloodcurdling screech and released me from its iron grip.

            I plummeted down and down, bracing myself for impact, but I never felt anything.

 

**_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~_ **

**** **_Victor_ **

 

            Those of us that had screeched to a halt watched in horror as the beast released someone over the tangled forest and they disappeared within the limbs. Her scream pierced the howling winds and the drumming of the rain on the ground, bringing the entire rescue party to a dead stop; some of them were worried that it was Raven that had fallen. It wasn't until the second bird vanished and we caught sight of the first one again that we all realized who was gone.

            "Father! Father, th-that was Allyson!"

            His already terrified expression was amplified as he whirled around to find the Hatter, "Tarrant, take a group and search where she went down! We've got to get both of them back!" None of us wanted to think of what they would find tangled among the branches, or what would happen should we fail to rescue my sister, so we collected ourselves and the rest of us raced after Raven.

            The two parties took separate paths through the forest, but we all came out in the same barren stretch of land in the Chessboard Valley. The skeletal remains of the Jabberwocky’s head grinned at us from the edge of the cliff, the body having fallen into the raging sea below. It was almost mocking our efforts.

Hatter’s group scoured the surrounding trees as we pressed onward toward Salazen Grum, where it appeared the beast was heading. Arrows sailed through the air, fired from Arya’s bow among others, but none managed to soar high enough to even scrape the monster. And it only climbed higher…

“We’re going to lose it if we don’t shoot it down! These clouds are too thick!” Arya had her bridle tied around her waist, and she was standing in her saddle to get a better shot, which still didn’t help. None of the other archers were daring enough to attempt this, and I’m quite sure her father wouldn’t want her attempting it either.

It didn’t even take the power of the storm to make us realize all hope of rescue was lost; in the years since the Frabjous day, the path between Marmoreal and Salazen Grum had grown thick and impassable, and it wasn’t long before not even the axes of the soldiers could cut through the brush.

We couldn’t follow any further, and soon the silhouette of the “bird” and my sister disappeared into the distance. Her terrified voice faded from our ears, replaced by the rainfall and the rumble of thunder.

The Hatter and those who had searched with him rode up behind us, “We didn’t find anything…she’s vanished.” His eyes were wild with fear, but I couldn’t tell if his colors had changed. The others looked just as horrified as I’m sure we did…

We’d just lost two people…and we didn’t know for certain we’d ever see either of them again…

 

**_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~_ **

**_Allyson_ **

 

            When my eyes opened, I was face-down on my bathroom floor, surrounded by the remnants of my vanity mirror. I sat up slowly to take in my surroundings and catch my breath. It was pitch dark; only moonlight reflecting off the shattered glass offered light to my darting eyes. It was so silent that my ears were ringing and buzzing to make up for the lack of sound. My heart pounded and the hair on the back of my neck stood on end.

            I was alone.

            The others were still in Underland…

            In vain, I tried to put the mirror back together on the floor and form a Portal, but all I managed to do was slice my palms and fingers to ribbons.

We were all trapped…them with the demons, and me with blood-stained glass that cut past the skin and into my mind with the memory of another broken mirror.


	12. Chapter 11 - Failsafe

**_Allyson_ **

 

“No…no this can’t be happening…” I curled myself into a ball with my back against the cabinet, “This isn’t really happening…” my red-stained hands stung as I wrapped them around my arms to hold myself together. I wasn’t even entirely sure what **_had_** happened, but whatever had occurred wasn’t right in any sense of the word.

            There had to be a way to get them back or get back to them. The others couldn’t just be stuck down there without me…they just couldn’t! I’m their leader, their friend, I’m supposed to look out for them. What are we going to do without each other?

            For several long, lonely minutes, I racked my brain for a solution to our separation as I attempted to clean up the shattered glass; while it was useless to try and connect my Looking-Glass to one in Underland, it was feasible to put it back together on this end. Of course, I had to wash my hands first, so it wouldn’t look like something from a horror movie.

            Wouldn’t that be fitting though?

            The last piece fell into place, and the mirror melded back into one solid sheet of dark glass. Nothing appeared in the surface but my teary-eyed reflection, which made my heart sink even further, “Absolem…?” though it was just as fruitless as crawling through a Portal that wasn’t there, I called for the Butterfly in hopes that he could still hear me somehow. His powers stretched farther than most people know, so there was at least a chance that my cracked voice would reach him, “Absolem, please…can you hear me?”

            It was not his voice that answered me, but the one that did was an equal relief to hear, “Allyson?! Are you here?” the voice did not come from the Looking-Glass either; Maccay was calling from downstairs, and so were the others.

            “Guys?!” the pain in my fingers was dulled by the realization that I was no longer alone. I snatched the bathroom door open and bolted out onto the upstairs balcony, where at last my band came into view. All of them were present and accounted for, but something was off the moment I laid eyes on them. They were paler, and clothes didn’t look right either. It seemed that all the color had been sucked out of them and turned to black and grey; even Amber’s colored streaks in her hair were duller. They all looked terrified, and more than a few of them had scrapes from the demons’ claws, “What’s going on? What happened?” Luke didn’t give me time to listen to anyone’s reply before he raced up the staircase to embrace me; in that moment, I didn’t want to hear the bad news they undoubtedly brought home with them. I was just so relieved that they were all alive.

            Amber finally spoke up, and for once she was clinging to her brother as though she were afraid he would vanish if she let go, “We went into the castle looking for something to fight the demons off with. We thought you’d come in with us and got lost in the crowd…” Tony put his arm around her to steady her, “Thorne found us while he was looking for Arya, he told us you rode out with the knights. We wanted to come after you, but he said you were way gone and he wouldn’t let anyone else leave.”

            “What a hero.” I huffed, secretly glad that he had protected them from witnessing me fall to my “death”. The thought crept into my head that I would have to thank him for that, if I ever saw him again.

            Tony added, “Absolem was going ballistic…he made us come home when Stayne told him what happened to you. He said that he was going to seal all the Portals until they figure out what to do. Or until he has Drina’s head on a platter, whichever comes first.”

            “So basically we’re trapped here, and they’re trapped there.” Matt slumped against the doorframe, his hair hanging in his eyes, “They can’t come to us, and we can’t go to them.”

            I wanted to collapse in Luke’s arms, but my body locked up and I couldn’t move. This was a worse nightmare than even my darkest mind could imagine. This is what I had feared since the first time we’d seen a demon.

            “N-no…no…he can’t…he can’t do that…”

            “He had to.” Mayo was an absolute wreck; she was shaking violently and so pale I was worried she might get sick, “There was no other way.”

            “There has to be…there has to be another way…there has to…”

            Sam, like the others, was struggling to hold himself together, “He said he was sorry that we couldn’t stay, but he wanted us to be safe-”

            The s-word broke me like the mirror I’d fallen through, “Safe?! **_SAFE_**?! **_HOW_** are we safe if Drina can open Portals too?! How are we safe if the demons come **_HERE_** and we can’t call them for help?! **_How_**?!” Luke tried to hold me back, but I broke away from him and slammed the door to the bathroom open again. As it had been before, the Looking-Glass was empty, but that wasn’t going to stop me now, “ ** _Absolem_**! Answer me! **_Now_**!” I pounded my fist against the mirror, and a spider web of cracks spread beneath it.

            He didn’t appear.

            I banged harder.

            More crevices formed.

            Still nothing.

            Little drops of blood rolled down the mirror.

            I screamed for Underland until I couldn’t breathe.

            It remained dark and silent.

 

**_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~_ **

****

**_One Month Later_ **

**_Allyson_ **

 

       I give up.

            It’s official. There’s nothing left that any of us can do.

            For weeks upon weeks, all of us have been trying to break the barrier between us and Underland…not even to go there, just to see the others, to hear their voices, to know they’re alive. We’ve tried everything, every method of opening Portals has been exhausted, and so have all of us, but not a single Looking-Glass has even rippled under our fingertips.

“So much for having time to make my own decision…” I sighed, thinking back to Absolem’s “ _suggestion_ ” the night after the Frabjous Day, “Maybe I should’ve listened to him then…none of this would be happening if I had stayed.”

Of course, several other things that are vital to who we are as a group now probably wouldn’t have happened either if I had become an Underlander at 14. Or they might have, but I wouldn’t have been there to take part in them, and that possibility is what bothers me so much.

            But what’s done is done, so there’s no use in sulking about a “what if”, at least not that one in particular. That one won’t matter if the other “what if” lingers too much longer.

No one ever really specified exactly how long it takes to lose one’s memories of Underland in a long-term sense, like Alice did before she came back, but something tells me it doesn’t take long if you aren’t careful. We’ve all tried to be careful, of course; writing things down when they come to mind, flipping through the rare photos we have from the other world, calling the Overland counterparts’ phones and leaving text messages…things like that. We thought our music would’ve helped, but in truth, most of it’s painful to hear. It reminds us too much of them.

The songs aren’t as bad as the hope that bubbles up every time one of us glances at our reflections though. Against our better judgement, we still pray that one day we’ll look over and find a different face in the mirror, one that’s still familiar, one that’s smiling…

Not those burning red eyes and smoky black figures we’ve found on more than one occasion. Those are a sight I could do the rest of my life without, just like the nightmares they usually bring with them.

Telling ourselves that they’re just visions doesn’t help, because we can’t bring ourselves to say they aren’t real. We know better than to utter that phrase when speaking of Underland. Impossible things are what you think of before breakfast, not actual improbabilities.

And sometimes, the impossible things you wish for come in highly undesirable packages, or by similar messengers.

In my gloomy haze, I had laid my phone on top of the piano while I plunked away at the keys aimlessly, not playing any particular song; it had been mostly silent that day, save for the usual texts, so it startled me when it began to ring. The loud, poppy ringtone would have startled me on a good day, but the quiet seemed to amplify the effect, “Hello?” I picked it up anticipating Amber or Tony’s voice on the other end –they had two different songs, but my mind was a little foggy at the time and I couldn’t remember whose was playing –but it wasn’t either of them that replied.

“ _There’s no possible way you could’ve known it was me calling, so I’ll chalk your tone up to the dreary weather you’re having up here. You sound miserable._ ”

I sat bolt upright on the bench, “Thorne?!”

“ _We’ve been ringing this blasted doorbell of yours for five minutes. Come let us in before your mother gets home, or we catch cold._ ”

 

**_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~_ **

****

**_Arondight_ **

 

“What took so long?” not only did Allyson greet us at the door after several minutes of standing in the rain, but her dog decided to welcome us in with plenty of barking and jumping and licking as well. Overland animals were so strange and alien; they didn’t speak like those in Underland, and it was quite unnerving to me, “We nearly froze out here waiting on you.”

Contrary to what I had expected, her face lit up as soon as she saw me, as if she hadn’t believed it was me on the “cellphone” a few moments ago, “I was just thinking to myself that the one bright side of this is that I wouldn’t have to see you anymore…but so much for that.” She was teasing, so it was only fair that I do so in return, was it not?

I locked the door behind us, “Well if that’s how you feel about it, I suppose we’ll just use your Glass and be on our way without you then.”

Tony didn’t give her any leeway to retort or for me to add any further remarks, “We don’t have time for you two to pick at each other, if you want to get back to Underland you better move it or lose it, sweetheart.” He took their band leader by the shoulders and spun her around so that she was facing the staircase, “If you don’t hop to it, I’ll drag you myself.” He glared at me over his glasses.

“Alright, alright! I’m goin’!” she twisted away from him and practically ran the rest of the way on her own, “So the Portals are open again?”

“Not exactly…” Amber and I trailed along behind them; I was surprised to discover that she was happy to see me when I first arrived as well. My dear little companion had even claimed to have gotten a little worried about me. It was almost like she missed just being around me, as she’d never been one for lengthy conversations, though neither had I, in all the time we’d spent together. Still, I suppose even simply being in the presence of someone becomes a comforting routine after a while, whether you actually like them or not.

“And that means…?”

“What she means is that our common enemy is currently distracted, and that now is as good a time as any to smuggle you all in, so we can take her down and clean up this mess she’s made.”

Allyson led us through the hallway and into the room with the largest Looking-Glass, “Where’s everyone else though?” she noted the absence of the other group members.

“Saleen and Elias have been sent to retrieve the rest of your friends.” I brushed past the children and activated the Portal from this side, as per Absolem’s instructions, “We’re leaving from Queen Rubi’s throne room, not going straight into Marmoreal.”

“Why not?”

“I’m not going to make things any easier for Drina by having us all in one place at the same time right out of the gate, my dear.” For once, my gaze alone was enough to silence her, “If you want to face the Witch on your own, I can send you straight to her lair, but otherwise just trust me this one time.” If I had realized what her mute expression meant, I would have clammed up myself. Proverbs be blasted, words really can harm you…

 

**_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~_ **

****

**_Allyson_ **

 

Never in my wildest dreams would it have occurred to me to be thankful that Arondight Thorne had shown up on my doorstep, yet here we are, standing side-by-side in the crowded throne room of the Diamond castle. Servants are running about in borderline panic, throwing things into travelling trunks and ordering other servants around. Arya and the Queen aren’t standing idly-by either; they’re both grabbing misplaced things and trying not to rip their hair out, from the looks of it. I don’t imagine we look much better in the armor we were told to wrestle ourselves into “just in case”.

“Sir Thorne, I’m glad to see you’re all safe.” Rubi did take a moment to acknowledge us before she trotted off to finish packing, “Be ready on my mark. We must leave as soon as possible if we are to meet our escorts on time.”

He bowed, “Yes, milady.”

Arya gave him a much less formal greeting, nearly taking him to the ground in a bear-hug, “Papa, you’re back!” she buried her face in his shoulder.

His face belied the uneasiness we could all see in his eyes as he returned his daughter’s embrace, “You’re alright Arya. I wasn’t gone that long, was I?” In spite of all his _other_ qualities, the one thing I admire Thorne for is that he really seems to care for his not-so-little girl. She’s really the only reason I can put any sort of faith in him…I mean from what I’ve seen, he wouldn’t do anything that would put her in danger just to get at any of his less friendly allies. His true enemies aren’t close enough to her for that to be a problem, or so I hope.

“No, but…with everything that’s going on, I…” she hugged us too, “I’m just happy everyone is alright at the moment. We need all the good news we can get.”

Amber stroked her hair comfortingly, “Why? What else has happened?”

Arya turned to face me directly, a look of pure fear and sadness on her face, “Victor ran away to look for his sister. Amalie and Jackson went with him, and no one’s seen or heard from any of them since…”

And just like that, the light in my heart was snuffed out as quickly as it was rekindled.

 

**_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~_ **

****

**_Alice_ **

 

“Mum?”

“Yes Jennra?”

The youngest of my girls padded across our room at the castle and stood on the balcony beside me, her face glum and colorless, “Is everyone going to be alright?” she laid her head on my shoulder, “I’m terribly worried…everybody’s been out of sorts forever it seems like.”

Despite what some foolish adults may think, children understand more than they let on, and if they see a problem it becomes their heart’s desire to fix it, whether they really can or not. Even the smallest ones have noticed the changes in Marmoreal, and it’s making them uneasy. The Outlanders camping around the palace has done little to soothe their nerves, which makes me wonder if they don’t have a more developed sense for this sort of thing…back in Overland, it was a rather common belief ( _among those who believed these sorts of things_ ) that small children and animals could sense angels and spirits. Perhaps they can detect magic here in Underland…

“Once we’re all together, safe and sound, everything will be right again.” I laid my head on top of hers and put my arm around her thin shoulders, “We all miss our little ones, even though only some of them are really little anymore…”

She was quiet for a moment, and I thought my answer had reassured her, until another thought came to her mind, “Do you suppose their mother misses them…Victor and Raven I mean…wherever she is?”

Her seemingly innocent question took me off-guard entirely, “I-I…I should hope so.”

Surely even Iracebeth wasn’t that heartless. She had sent them here for their safety after all, or that’s what she’d told them to tell us. She very well could’ve been lying to us all to pull off some crazy scheme…who knows?

“Mumma! Mayo’s home!” Charlie suddenly burst in, dragging said Overlander by the sleeve of her jacket and with Ebony and Adrian on their heels. Once she finally stopped, all four of the children practically threw themselves onto her, leaving me no room to hug her myself.

“Oh! Thank goodness you made it alright!” I settled for stroking her hair over Ebony’s head, “Who else came with you?”

“Maccay and Luke. They live closer to me than the others…but Eli said the rest of the Warriors are on their way. Saleen went after Matt, Sam and our Twins, and Thorne got Amber, Tony and Allyson.”

The thought of Sir Thorne riding all the way from Queast within earshot of **_her_** was a fairly amusing thought, but not quite as amusing as the ruckus that arose in the courtyard below us. Luke had been spotted by the Gryphon and Mock Turtle… and they were simply overjoyed to see him, of course. The poor boy quickly vanished in a heap of silver feathers and a river of tears, “Ohhhhhhh we were so woorriiiiied…” the Gryphon wailed, an ungodly sound the likes of which I’d never heard, “We thought we’d never see you agaaaain…”

“Look, guys, I’m fine. Really.” He tried to regain a more dignified position, lest his beloved should arrive and find him at the bottom of the sobbing heap, “I promise nothing’s wrong with m-”

“But you might’ve been stuuuck…u-up there foreeeveeeer…” the Mock Turtle sounded even worse than his companion, “And we’d miss yoooou sooo very very terriblyyyy…”

“I missed y’all too, but-” now they were both carrying on, and he very nearly couldn’t take it anymore, “Oh c’mon guys, pull yourselves together!”

“B-but we’re just s-s-so h-happyyy to seee yooou…”

“Really? I couldn’t tell.” I couldn’t see it from my vantage point, but I’m quite sure he rolled his eyes at some point in that sentence. However, I could very clearly see him patting the Mock Turtle’s head and the Gryphon’s neck with affection; he had indeed missed them, even though they could be a bit melodramatic.

Maccay was likely the only one out of the bunch, aside from maybe Amber, who didn’t miss their native companion. As I remember, the Red Queen wasn’t the best of company if you happened to disagree with her or somehow inconvenience her otherwise.

Iracebeth just wasn’t a terribly pleasant person altogether, quite the opposite of her sister Mirana. The White Queen and her sibling’s Overlander had taken quite a shining to each other in the Red Queen’s absence, but alas, the poor girl was stuck with her original companion, or lack thereof rather, until she decides to stay or leave. Absolem had told me as much when the reason that Allyson hadn’t left him for someone else because of their constant bickering came up in conversation one afternoon. Something about it being in the rules for those who travel between the worlds as they do, though I can’t recall any specifics.

            “How soon will they be here? Or do you know?”

            “Probably by morning, that’s what King Braden said.” The children finally detached themselves from Mayo and raced off to find the rest of the family, “It might be as early as tonight though. It’s all according to how far they can travel without interruption…”

            From the reports I’ve overheard just today, it very well may be morning before they get here, and they likely won’t all be in one piece. Something has Drina agitated…and she’s taking it out on whoever gets within reach of her.

           

**_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~_ **

****

**_Allyson_ **

 

Contrary to the saying “this thing rides like a two-horse wagon”, the carriage ride to Marmoreal wasn’t all that bad, aside from the bitter cold that suddenly fell over us once it got dark. It had never been this frigid in all the time I’d been coming here, “Man, we’re gone for a month and the weather screws up too. Is there anything that **_hasn’t_** gone backwards?” Tony muttered, pulling the cloak Thorne gave him tighter around his shoulders.

“If it was going backwards before, it’s going frontwards now, just to put matters into perspective.” Thorne replied, his horse trotting alongside us as we rolled along, “Or sideways.”

There was a collective groan. Amber buried her head in her hands, “Super.”

“We’re waiting on things to start spinning or shaking or some other nonsense.”

“Don’t jinx it, Thorne.”

“Bit late for that, isn’t it?” he chuckled bitterly.

"Good point..." as much as I hated to agree with him, he was right, "Anything else we need to know before we get dropped in the middle of it?"

He shook his head, reigning his horse back to stay in-line with us, "Not yet, that I know of...but the day is young, my dear. Plenty of time for that to change." He sounded like he was anticipating that something else would be coming along, but for once I tried to ignore my paranoia regarding Thorne. I was just happy to be back here at all. We all were.

Tony turned to Arya after a short, contented silence, "Any idea where Victor and the Twins went? Like did they leave a note or anything?"

She frowned her head solemnly, "The messengers didn’t say. I suppose that sort of information is too dangerous to carry that great a distance..."

"Somebody had to have seen them though..." I added, "I’d bet money that Marmoreal is on lockdown after the party. Nobody in or out without an escort and permission." Thorne begrudgingly admitted I was right too, so we were even; he said all of the kingdoms were that way now. They all had Outlander guards around the palaces, on top of their own soldiers and whatever magic they had anyway. Absolem even had personal guard for himself and for the Oraculum, as one or both were anticipated targets for Drina. And yet three teenagers had managed to slip by Cards and a whole tribe of Outlanders with no help…or did they?

Amber, Tony and I all exchanged a skeptical glance; there was no way in Hades that those three had gotten away unnoticed…they were the children of arguably the most famous people in this realm. Two of them had a prophecy about them that is directly connected to our current debacle, and the third is their right-hand man. And yet, in spite of all the attention they **_should_** have had on them the moment Drina’s involvement was suspected,  they were left unsupervised long enough to plan and execute a Houdini act that bumfuzzled every adult in the entire castle? Fat chance. Somebody helped them, and that’s the end of it…question is, who?

Mirana isn’t above surprises, but this hardly qualifies for that. The Staynes would be too busy looking for the littlest one to be conspiring with the trio of runaways, and wouldn’t risk losing Amalie, Jackson and Victor to Drina and her lackeys anyway. The Hightopps aren’t that kind of crazy. No one we know would put someone else’s children in danger like that.

But we don’t know **_everyone_** in the castle now, do we? Not equally, we don’t.

The same suspicion that rose into my eyes soon filled the faces of my two companions, but none of us had the time to speak any names. As we passed Queast’s border with the Outlands, a mountain valley that stretched out into the lilac-grey sands of the desert, unearthly yowls and screeches filled the air and dark shapes appeared on the ledges above our caravan.

I know it was the worst possible time in the world to laugh ( _I didn’t out loud, mind you_ ), but the whole scene reminded me of the horde of flying monkeys from _The Wizard of Oz_ leaving the witch’s castle. There were so many of them just waiting to swoop down and pick us apart like a band of helpless scarecrows. We may have looked more like the Tin Man, but our armor was only so thick, and their claws were as long as my whole hand.

“If they attack, cover your heads and get under the seat until we’re clear.” Thorne ordered gruffly, striding ahead of the carriage with his reins in one hand and sword in the other.

He must not have caught Amber’s expression or heard Tony mutter “ ** _When_** they attack, you mean?” or he would have turned around and shoved them both under the bench they were sitting on. We all had a bone to pick with these cretins, and none of us had ever been known to back out of a knock-down drag-out we thought we had even a slim chance to win. To be totally candid, I would be happy just getting one good swat at one of these things, after what one of its buddies did to me. The little jerk…

 The guards around the Queen all bristled to attention, but none moved to spirit her away; if they moved too suddenly it would spook the demons and bring the legions down upon us. Instead, we all cautiously crept by the nest, our eyes never leaving the monsters’ and our weapons never lowering. They clicked their teeth at us hungrily, and some even dared to climb lower in an effort to spook the horses. They wanted us to swing first, to try and sprint for home.

It was no fun if their prey didn’t play along…

Their harassment only got worse the closer the end of the wagon train got to them. There were less soldiers to contend with back there than there should have been, and that one hole in our protection is all it took to spark chaos. Two skittish cart horses snatched their leads out of the driver’s hands and bolted around the rest of us, and the demons gave chase.

The panic they induced hit the group like a wave; it swept from the very end of the line forward as everyone broke ranks and fled. We three watched as wagons nearly tipped over as they swerved around each other and the creatures pursuing them, and as the crystalline Diamond soldiers’ armor reflected the black figures all around them. Demons wove in and out of the crowd like a pack of wild dogs, nipping and snarling at passersby. Our coach had managed to avoid most of them at first, but not long after the crossroad leading to Nidaria came into view, that all changed.

            Of course, we didn’t see it coming. Amber was knocking the beasts off the sides of the carriage, Tony followed Thorne’s advice but only because demons had climbed under the seats first, and our driver had been carried off, so I was trying to steer our little deathtrap like I knew what I was doing. Our unfortunate situation left no one to watch for the bigger demons, and one snuck under our wheels and sent us flying from the wagon.

            Amber landed close enough to Thorne that he could grab her and throw her onto his horse without missing a beat of battle, but Tony had to scramble to reach his sister before something else reached him. I was thrown to the opposite side of the trail and landed in the sand just short of the road sign. As luck would have it, Arya had dismounted not too far away ( _what would her father say if he could see her? Probably something unprintable._ ) and was picking the demons off with her arrows.

            “Didn’t your daddy tell you not to-”

            “He told me not to leave the group, and the group is still right here, s’far as I can tell.”

            Well, she wasn’t wrong…

            We clambered together back-to-back, one slicing and one firing, and continued on in this fashion for some time before the demons started to thin out and retreat. The dent we put in their numbers was hardly noticeable, but our wounded stood out in all shades of red against the pale background. Injury hadn’t missed very many, including myself and the Knave of Diamonds. It was nothing we couldn’t survive though, nothing a little cleaning up wouldn’t fix.

For a split second, I was worried when I didn’t see Thorne stalking towards us to scold his daughter for exploiting a loophole in his order to stay put, but Arya pointed out that he was further along the trail with Queen Rubi; she could see his horse and its riders over most of the crowd. She looked a little frazzled to say the least, but her Majesty was mostly unscathed, as were my fellow Overlanders. Amber just looked angrier than usual, and her hair more Hightopp-like. Tony’s sunglasses that he wore to conceal at least some of his freckles – regardless of the weather – were missing too. I didn’t bother looking for what was left of our ride out here; it had probably splintered on impact, and I would probably be walking a great deal because of it unless I found a spare horse or jumped on behind Arya. Neither option was ideal, but her horse was big enough for the both of us and didn’t seem to mind the added weight.

“Nothing like a good midday battle to awaken the senses, eh?” Arya quipped, her inherited sarcasm spilling out.

“I’d prefer tea…but whatever floats your boat.”

“What kind of tea are **_you_** drinking?!”

            Chamomile or English Breakfast tea would have both been correct answers had I the opportunity to answer. Our travelling party made the mistake of thinking we were safe while still in sight of the demon’s nest, and a number of us turned our backs to the cliffs where they lurked so that we could realign ourselves with the path. The horses were smarter ( _they had more horse sense, y’know?_ ), and tried to warn us with uneasy whinnies and back-pointing ears, but no one thought much of it.

            When the last of us had crested the hill, the screeches sounded anew. Winged demons soared over the caravan while the legged variety galloped up behind us, snarling and biting heels. The soldiers circled back to fight them off, so we could get a head start, but a few managed to slip by and over the battalions. Arya and I weren’t far enough toward the front to avoid the second onslaught…within seconds, we were unwillingly back on the ground and swinging.

Problem was, she was almost out of arrows, and I only had one sword.

            She called for her father to come assist us, but he was too far away, and her voice was lost in the din of others crying for help. Not to mention the volume of people that stood between us and him. He might as well have been back in Queast for all the good he did the two of us…

In the end, a pack of the mongrels cut us off from the rest of the group, and in our adrenaline-fueled panic we didn’t pay much attention to where we were running. I was only able to tell how far we were being chased from the others by how distant their shouting grew. By the time we stopped weaving in and out of the rock formations that rose up around us, there was pale sand under our feet and we had stumbled into a cave that wasn’t empty.

 

**_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~_ **

**_Arya_ **

       

            “Well **_now_** what’re we gonna do? How’re we going to get back to them?” Allyson wrung her hands and groaned. We had managed to lose those awful creatures, but we’d gotten lost ourselves in the process.

            I did my best to keep my head; Papa always taught me to stay calm in situations that were out of my hands, as fear only gave other forces more control, “We have to go around the back of these mountains, around the demons. If they don’t see us we ca-”

            “Who’s there?!” a third voice cut in from somewhere behind us in the cavern. It sounded somewhat familiar, but the echo distorted it so much I couldn’t rely on that uncertainty…not to mention that some demons could probably mimic talking, like some Overland birds do, “We’re armed! Reveal yourself!” it called again, closer this time.

            Allyson drew her black-stained sword and backed against a wall, “So are we, so how’s about we meet halfway?” I drew a dagger of my own, as my bow was all but useless with no arrows to fire. I would have to make some myself, if we didn’t reach Marmoreal by nightfall.

There was a chorus of voices then, though none were understandable because they were mumbling to one another. The silence that followed was only broken by the sound of footsteps shuffling against the stone floor, and when that stopped the air was filled with gasps of disbelief.

“What are **_you_** **_three_** doing out here?!” the oldest of us demanded, sheathing her sword and putting her fists on her hips, “If I wasn’t so worried about us getting eaten, I’d drag every last one of you home by your ears! Do you know how worried everybody probably is about you?!” The Hightopp twins worried at the hems of their capes in shame, but Victor’s cheeks started burning red with exasperation at her scolding, and he started explaining before she could start in on them again. He told us the details that had been left out of the messengers’ report; the suspected demon girl and her cryptic message about the Black Queen, and that they knew where to find her, and most likely, Raven.

He didn’t neglect to mention Allura’s prophecy concerning our two friends, choosing to cite it as their reason for running out on their own. The adults, he said, knew about it, but weren’t going to let them act on it…except for the Outland’s rulers of course, “Queen Allura helped us get out of the castle without getting caught. King Danzia gave us these medallions for protection.” He lifted up the necklace that dangled from his neck, and so did Amalie and Jackson. I suddenly felt underdressed, thanks to a piece of jewelry.

Allyson sighed in defeat, knowing a team of bandersnatches couldn’t drag them home if they had a lead on poor little Raven, “So where to, then? If you’re going then we are too.”

“Salazen Grum, the Red Queen’s old castle.” Amalie replied.

“Of course…why did I even bother asking?”


End file.
